Shining Spirit

I live in a world that is sometimes out of focus.
In that world, I seek clarity and insight.

I am surrounded by the good wishes and prayers of
so many.  Family, friends, faith followers.
I am blessed and thankful.

  Thorns cannot overcome the desire to open myself to life.
Gifts given are meant to be shared.
Obstacles are irrelevant.

All of life is contained in a single drop of water.
I see my reflection and I know
we are one.

Soon the bud will open.
It will be glorious.
New life.  Birth.  Resurrection.
Buds open around me all the time.
Please, God, that I may see them
and be amazed.

Light calls birth into being.
Light shines in empty tombs.
Nothing overcomes Light.

Today will be a Good News Day,

I feel it in the air.

I don’t know how or where or when

but I intend to dare

to see some good in everyone,

extend a hand of care

to those who find the going rough,

whose load is hard to bear.

Today will be a Give Thanks Day

for all to see and hear.

My friends, the earth, a Sacred Love;

it is so very clear

that I receive amazing gifts,

each fills my heart with cheer.

I am a man who’s truly blessed

and grateful to be here.

Just now a gentle morning breeze

moves through the waking woods

and sings a lovely melody

“All life is very good!”

I feel the song move through my heart,

the meaning’s understood,

today, and each amazing day,

is meant for servanthood.

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”
The audacity!  The arrogance!

That’s what I read
and that’s what I thought
when I pulled up behind the
car at a stop sign.

There it was for the whole world to see!
The driver of that car was “disturbed” because
my faith is lacking?  He knows?
Why would someone put that license plate
holder on their car?  Why advertise
arrogance?

But I know the sad answer to my question.
It’s because the world is populated by
folks who judge themselves superior and
don’t mind telling you so,
who pass judgement on the basis
of their standards, the litmus marks
of right/wrong, good/bad, faithful/lack of faith.

So, I’m having a special license plate holder made with
the following inscription:
“I am disturbed by your being disturbed
by what you assume to be the
quality of my faith,
which you know nothing about.”

So there!
It’s going to be a big license plate holder.
Now I’ve got to find that guy.

My friend has a broken spine.
It has a lot to do with age.
It’s like her life is now in two sections,
everything before page 192 and
everything that follows,
all the way to 311.
While her wound is obvious,
she still welcomes me with sound advice
and special wisdom.

It is good to give thanks to You, O Beloved,
to sing praises to your Holy Name.

She knows how to help me move
into the new day.

It is good to affirm your steadfast love
in the morning…to the music of the spheres,
to the melody of the universe.

Sometimes when I am down or disillusioned,
she reminds me to be hopeful.

Though darkness covers most of the land
and violence seems to flourish,
Love gives birth to dazzling light, and,
like a laser, it shines through all that
is hidden.

When I sit with her, our of her brokenness,
she speaks amazing wisdom,
true for her day and true for mine.

Those who live with integrity are like
a garden in full bloom,
whose blossoms beautify the earth,
their produce nourishes all who
pass by.

I offered to take her to a spine
specialist, but she refused.
“I want you to see past my brokenness
and always remember that
the broken can be
the blessing.”

She has a special place on my
bookshelf.  She is my friend.

(Highlighted words from Nan Merrill,
“Psalms For Praying”)

May I have the courage to make the journey today, the strength to see it through, the wisdom of those who dreamed Discovery into being, and a determined reliance on The Presence who set all the stars in place and calls me to the adventure.

Does it matter that one blue flower lives on the edge of the pathway that disappears into the shadowy woods?

Does it make any difference?

Far from the path that crosses the woods,

away from sounds of laughter and play,

in a place where no boot has scattered brown leaves

and the soft snow of winter rests low on the branch,

pine trees sing in an October breeze,

harmony unmatched in concert or choir.

The earth, moist and fertile, pulses in time

with a melody formed by crackling leaves

as a deer and her fawn move cautiously near

the edge of an ice-crusted, shimmering pond.

Paint on canvas could never portray what the

eye and the heart witness that day.

High in the top of a snow dappled pine,

on a limb that stretches to touch the clear sky,

the voice of a bluebird announces the birth

of a song that will dance with the moon and the stars

on its way to a galaxy hanging in space,

the gift of the forest and the rich, living earth.

I am shaped and formed by the potter’s hand

as a container to hold life. It is my choice, granted

in love, about what kind of life will fill this simple

creation. Each day I choose, from each encounter I

choose, from my work, my decisions, my failures and

my accomplishments I choose. May the strength of courage,

the gracefulness of hope and the amazing diversity of life

display my gratitude to the potter who offers opportunity

and the freedom to create.

Early morning, before the sun wakes, sitting at the kitchen table with hot coffee and a dear friend, talking and laughing, remembering. A blessing.

Receiving the hospitality of a neighbor, warm and genuine welcome, vanilla ice cream over apple crisp, conversation that deepens friendship. A blessing.

Warm bed in a cold night, comfort and security, peaceful rest, renewal. A blessing.

Count your many blessings.

Name the times when the Mystery touched your life this day. Name them and be glad.

When the last prayer is said and the mourners go home,
carry me down to the ocean’s edge
that I might hear the rollicking surf
and sing one last song with the circling gulls.
Set me down on moist sand strewn with
seaweed and shells, near the place where
tidepools reflect the moon’s glow.
There I will welcome vibrant new life
borne in the froth of the incoming tide.
Be poised and ready for the sight of a star
streaming across the western sky,
then cast me high in the favoring wind
toward the tail of the comet
splitting the night.
And I will grasp the ephemeral,
streaking light and be off
on a grand and glorious
ride toward the gentle
beat of creation’s
heart.