HOLD THAT THOUGHT

Hold that thought, 

whatever it is, 

and before long 

it will hold you. 

At first, like an opinion, 

its trickle will hold you up,

buoy you, carry you.

Like a belief, 

it will give you a stream of comfort, 

even a pool of sanctuary. 

But then, eventually, 

like an eddy, 

it will hold you back,

hinder your growth,

keep you from expanding

into new thought, 

fresh definitions,

ever more creative ways 

of being in the world.

Its comfort will turn to constraint, 

its utility to uselessness,

its pooling into a prison.

For your modus operandi, 

like a river’s current, 

is always in sweet flow, 

always taking you in tow.

As is the journey of all flesh,

and even in this moment,

you are becoming something 

more than you were, 

but less than you will be

upon arriving at the great sea.

THAT'LL PREACH

At first light,

one Sunday Morning,

back in the day

of Star Wars and Skywalkers,

I prayed, “Lord, help me 

preach this sermon,

(“A Force Called Forgiveness,”

in case You don’t remember)

with conviction!!!”

The Lord thought about it 

for a thousand years,

and then got back to me 

by my next breath,

“No, pastor, just preach it

as one who’s been convicted,

and knows forgiveness.

That’ll preach.” 

SHHH!

Remember when public libraries used to be quiet places? 

We all understood that the people there were thinking--reading/studying/researching/etc.--and we were taught NOT to unnecessarily interrupt them because that level of (critical and creative) thinking was highly valued by most people. The public library was the local community’s communal thinking place…of the people, by the people, for the people. Sounds almost constitutional.

But times have changed.

Now they’re noisy…people talking out loud, playing their music, making important phone calls…you know…what to order for lunch. (Hold the mustard!) The cynic in me says this is happening because our dominant societal values no longer encourage us to care what or how others think. The individual is all that matters. Hmm.

But libraries themselves haven’t changed. It’s the people using them. Yet it’s not really the people. It’s their--our--thinking. Or more succinctly…the superficial level of our thinking. 

“It’s not my fault!” we cry. 

Well, yeah, it is…unless we want someone else to do our thinking for us which, surprisingly often, we do. Letting someone else do it may seem easier. But at what price?

There is, however, another reason for this that really isn’t our fault. It’s the sheer volume of information the world seemingly requires us to assimilate. TMI! With so much coming at us, it’s difficult to sort and shelve (never mind synthesize) one shipment  before the next truckload comes in. 

What can we do about it? 

Though we can’t stem the tide, we can remember that each of us is a living library…that the librarians at our front desk (our five senses) need to post hours when we’re simply not available…and take time to go back into the stacks, poke around just for fun, or maybe just sit down in a corner and take a deep breath. 

Shhh! I’m thinking.

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD, EACH OTHER & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

LIVING DYNAMICALLY

Is your thinking working for you? 

What are the signs if it is? For one, you're happy from the inside out. Two, you’re wisely hopeful. Three, you feel resilient…you have a sense that you’ll survive anything that comes your way. Four, you believe that you have the power within you to thrive. Five, you understand that you--and you alone--are responsible for your joy.

What are the signs it’s not? For one, you’re giving in to thinking fearful, worried thoughts even though you know that doing so won’t help matters. Two, you’re obsessing over petty things, letting them irritate you and rob you of your joy. Three, your thinking is negatively affecting your relationships, especially the most important ones. Four, your thoughts are making you feel insecure and inadequate or defensive and even self-righteous. Five, you’re feeling neither peaceful nor loving and frankly…you’re not much fun to be around. 

Even with yourself.

Living dynamically means living in a continuously conscious relationship with our thoughts and where we’re letting them lead us…continuously examining not just the content but also the process of our thinking for both its value and validity. When we choose to live (i.e. think) this way--and to be sure, it is a choice--we are not only different people. We are dynamic people making a dynamic difference in our world.

Let’s think dynamically…so we can live dynamically. After all, we may not think we can make a difference in the world, but how we think makes a world of difference in the lives of those around us.

This is how we do it.

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD, EACH OTHER AND OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S MAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK. 

AU CONTRAIRE

I say “au contraire” because the world’s powers that be prefer we all think and act as lemmings…needy, highly malleable, conformable clay-like creatures that do exactly as told. (Unfortunately, even some of our religion fosters this attitude and behavior.) But do YOU believe that’s why we’re here? For me, the answer is a very hard no! To the contrary, in the broadest sense, I believe I’m here to evolve and expand along with you and the rest of the universe. (This, I believe, is the true purpose of religion.)

So. . .  

#1: I CONTINUALLY REMIND MYSELF: THIS IS EASY!...no matter what “this” is. In other words, having the right state of mind is absolutely paramount. (BTW: I don’t use a to-do list. I have a “This is easy!” list.) 

#2: I’M CONSCIOUSLY THANKFUL…or try to be! Nothing unlocks our creativity and generosity like a joyful, thanks-giving spirit. Nothing. 

#3: I KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS. The worst ones keep us thinking while the best lead to better and better questions…and insights. What a great way to expand.

#4: I SEE MYSELF AS A SCRIBE. Let Life/God/Universe/Inner Wisdom speak. Just listen, REALLY LISTEN. Quietly take good notes…verbatim. No filtering. No editing. Just write down what you hear. If it’s good, you’ll think about it later. (This is the essence and one of the key values of meditation.)

#5: I TRUST MYSELF! Again…I try…and train myself at this. We actually do a lot less of this than we think. Further, our culture teaches us NOT to trust ourselves. (See above.) But trust. Trust your gut, your intuition, your leadings. Trust the Voice…and voices you most highly value.

Being contrary can be a very good thing.

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD, EACH OTHER & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S MAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT BEING AU CONTRAIRE.

P.S. I’d love to hear what some of your top “au contraire’s” are. After all, we’re in this together.

HERALDS

It’s early morning. Still dark. I can barely see trees 

yet robins are a-hopping, hummingbirds a-humming. 

I decide I'm awake. Heat up a cup of cold-brew coffee.

Now a red squirrel chases its tail ‘round a huge jack pine. 

“Oh, that my life was that simple!” I say, sipping.

I sit down with my computer, glance up at the still waters, 

check email, phone messages, appointments, endless etcetera.

Hmm. The flowers already have their makeup on. 

Looks like the Black-eyed Susans stayed out late again. 

Will this be a good day or a “Get me outta here!”? 

Now I see a gaggle of one, two…seventeen Canadians

sashaying single-file down the lake to their feeding grounds.

My question to them: Why not fly? Minutes vs. hours.

But I haven’t seen any of them checking their smartwatches. 

Grand scheming, though, is my life any different? 

I, too, did this exact same thing yesterday morning. 

Here come the chipmunk twins for breakfast. 

Can’t they read the sign? BIRDS ONLY! Seriously!

Why don’t I see any of them checking their calendars, 

their to-do lists, social media accounts or finances?

To my overthinking mind their lives seem enviably simple,

yet they, too, are fulfilling some larger-than-life purpose 

just by doing what they’re doing, aren’t they? My guess is yes. 

In fact, they’re doing it right now. With me. To me. For me.

Breaking in. Breaking through. Breaking up. Breaking forth.

Heralding a different way of being in the world.

Each of them. All of them. Messengers from on high. 

Some of them even have wings.