ONCE AGAIN,

Once again,
I’ve come here, to the quiet.
I’ve come to be with you, God. 
I’ve come to be caressed by your joy. 

Once again, I’ve forgotten that I am of you. 
So, I’ve forgotten the joy with which you created me,
I’ve forgotten the joy with which you called me into being 
from out of your being.

But now, 
even in this brief moment of attending 
to the you in me, 
I know healing is happening. 
Joy is returning.

Once again,  
you create in me a clean heart, O God. 
You renew a right spirit within me. 
You cast me not away from your presence. 
You take not your holy spirit from me. 
You restore in me the joy of your salvation. 
And you uphold me with your freeing spirit. 

Once again, I see
It is you, not me.
You make me whole. 

More. 

I see
you make me.
Over and over and over. 
You create me—once again,
as in the first making of all things. 

And I give thanks. 
I trumpet your grandeur 
even as I shine with your ecstasy. 

Yes, 
there is much I don't know,
there is much I don’t understand 
about you, 
about me. 

But once again, 
I will trust in you today
even as you will trust in me.

And trust is so much bigger than knowing, 
so much bigger than understanding
so much bigger than me. 

Once again,
I’m glad I came.

(Psalm 51:10-12)

THE MARY MOMENT

This Godness within.

It pulls at us,
this voice calling from out of a darkness 
so vast, so otherworldly, 
even angelic.
It tugs at us with such strength and tenacity 
that it disarms us.
It bursts the bonds of our fears, 
our pride, our self-aggrandizing egos. 

With it a new morning breaks upon us.
With it comes a dual awakening
—this Godness within is truly God
—this Godness within is truly me. 

At first, we wonder.
It feels foreign,
maybe even fake.
“Where is this coming from?
Can I trust it?” we ask.

But in time we realize, 
“This is my truest reality,
my inmost identity,
my deepest self.”

From it blooms the who 
that you and I are to the world. 
From it comes the fruitage, 
the why for which we have come.

From this “Mary moment” forward,
there is no longer a need to wonder. 
Only to wander. 
And ponder.

For the reaches of the Holy within are cosmic.
Here no one place is safe. It is all safe. 
Here no one place is sacred. It is all sacred. 
“I’m home,” we will say.
“I’m finally home,”
with a joy and certitude, and a grace
which only a moment ago was invisible
Yet now feels so true,
and now looms so large
before the eye of our eyes.

Entering here, we experience a holy beyond 
any church, any synagogue, 
any mosque, any mountain. 
It is the holy of holies
within each of us.
All of us.

A place so safe 
that we hear ourselves whispering to God, 
“Here, have your way with me,” 
while knowing that so vulnerable a surrender 
will in no way endanger us 
but instead, lovingly free us,
transmuting us
from our fears,
from our pride,
from our egos.

Here we offer a consent, 
and an appendix—
a daring cry to be freed 
from our own small selves so that, 
forsaking our falseness, 
we are unfettered to roam the far reaches
of this Godness within
—and then without.

So, feel it. 
Let your soul sense it.
Succumb to its tender beckoning.
Let its fullness come upon you.
Let its power eclipse you.

Each time we do,
each time we give our small selves over to it,
we will know that which our souls have been seeking. 

And, our hearts will speak a wisdom 
with unrestrained slapdash and delight. 
They will exude a song so sweet, 
and thrill so deep,
that we cannot help but voice 
a resounding “Yes!” to Life. 

The great awakening.
This Godness within 
is truly God, truly me!

We can marvel at its gentle way,
wander in its well-being,
and be pleased.

“Then Mary said [to the angel Gabriel], "Here am I. . . let it be with me according to your word,”  (Luke 1:38) 

SLOW ALL THE WAY DOWN TO NOW

It’s astonishing!

How much more we see
when we slow down!

No,
I don’t mean
slowing down
just long enough
so we can catch our breath
so we can speed up again.

And no,
I’m not talking about just
moving out of the fast lane.
I don’t mean slowing down by half.
Not even half of half.

Stop!

Today,
if only for a few moments,
slow all the way down to now.
Slow down to this moment
—just this moment.

When we do
we see more of the magnificent
as well as the mundane,
more of the extraordinary
in the ordinary,
more of the beautiful
beneath the ugly.

We’ll be surprised,
more than likely stunned,
maybe even stupefied
by what we see.

“Has this always been here?” 
we’ll ask incredulously.
Life will seductively respond,
“Yes…and so much more!”

We’ll see things
—things we’ve been missing—
joy, love, forgiveness, kindness, appreciation, splendor
—to name just a few.

And we’ll be the wiser, the richer, the fuller for it—
more joyful…and less judgmental,
more loving…and less loathing,
more forgiving…and less frightening,
more kind…and less callous,
more appreciative…and less arrogant,
more awed…and less apathetic.

We will discover where we had only known.
We will know where we had only wondered.
We will wonder where we had only doubted.
We will doubt where we had only been certain.

In short,
we will see
—as if for a first time—
what has been here all along.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE

It’s so easy
to look around
and envy people who appear to be
more “privileged” than we are.
We need not look far.
Seems, at any given moment,
just about anyone
will fill the bill.

But stop right there.

You are by far the most privileged person you know.

You are the only one who gets to determine
The who,
the what,
the when,
the where,
the why…
of you.

You get to determine
the direction of your life
in this—and for that matter—
every other moment.

Sure, there are outside influences,
external forces,
extenuating circumstances.
And some of them
come pretty close
to being “givens.”
Givens over which you seem to have little or no control,
givens that govern,
givens that will get to you...

if you let them.

But all,
and I mean all of them,
are external, right?
And, being external,
their sway and swagger are only
as great (or small)
as significant (or insignificant),
and influential (or inconsequential),
as expanding (or constricting),
as empowering (or disempowering)
as you choose
to let
or make
them be.

My point is simply this:
Internal is where it’s at.
“Internal” here defined as our inner state of well being
where the point of our personal privilege resides.

Oh,
some have more wealth,
some have more status,
more opportunity,
more beauty,
talent,
youth,
friends,
ad nauseam

—or so it may seem.

And yes,
some have fewer troubles,
some have fewer issues,
fewer problems,
fewer setbacks,
obstacles,
bumps,
bruises,
bills.

Ditto.

But, may I remind you
no one else…and I mean no one else,
enjoys the inexplicably deep personal privilege of being you.
No one else is the unique "one and only" individual you are.
No one else is the one-of-a-kind expression of life’s love you are.
No one else is the inimitable microcosm of the universe you are.

No one.

So stop stomping on everyone else’s personal privilege.
Instead, focus on living in—and out—
of your own.

And for that matter,
stop stomping on your own personal privilege.
You’ve sabotaged yourself long enough.

It stops here.

It stops now.

This is it.

From now on,
every time you feel the urge to sabotage
the incredible point of personal privilege with skin on it that
you and you alone are—

Stop!

Take a deep breath.
Maybe even sigh deeply once or twice.
Let go of it.
Regroup.
Reset.
Lovingly, forgivingly, compassionately
look yourself in the I

and admit it:

Life is hard
That’s just the way it is,
It's the way it usually comes
—even on a good day.

Then,
pick your point of personal privilege up off the floor.
Breath slowly…deeply….joyfully…into it

and go…

kiss the world.

“…and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)

HOW TO LOVE YOUR LIFE

To love our lives
we must do for life
what Life does for us.
Truly, it is our high privilege
and holy purpose
to do that which,
by its own model,
Life begets and beckons us to do.

Life gives itself to us,
sacrifices itself for us,
while it cherishes us,
forgives us,
nurtures us,
defends us,
humbles us,
celebrates us,
rejoices in us,
empowers us,
encourages us,
watches over us,
advocates for us,
uses itself up for us.

In other words,
ultimately,
bit by bit,
moment by moment,
and day by day. . .

Life dies for us,
rises up in us,
lives on through us.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the Life.” (John 11:25)

LOVE'S LOOKING BACK

O Invisible yet everywhere,
there is no “where” that you are not.
You are the essence in everything,
the infinite in every “every.”
Even now,
you are here.

You gaze at us
And we at you.
And when we do
we gaze into your very face,
into the face of God,
into the face of Life,
into the face of Reality,
into the face of Truth,
into the face of Being,
into the very face of Love.

O Invisible yet everywhere,
we can miss the sheer nearness of you.
Or worse, we can miss the you-ness of you.
Unaware,
while busied to the point of distraction,
or myopically intent upon our delusions,
or unfamiliar with the far flung reaches of seeing,
we can miss you.

And,
we can miss the you that is looking back at us.
And with it, we can miss your look of love—
the original look of Love.
And,
we can miss the you that is
longing to connect with us,
that is hoping we will see the you who are the "is"
in all things.

Still, you invite us to see
into yourself.
into your self
to perceive,
to experience,
and to know the you--
in all that is,
in all that happens to us,
in all that we do.

And when we see this you,
the invisible becomes visible!

When these moments come--be they but glimpses
in which we realize that it’s really you we are looking at—
with each of them,
you bless us,
you fill us,
you quiet us.
you keep us.
For we are actually seeing love
And it’s you looking back at us.

“The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”  Numbers 6:24-26

ONLY YOU

Write the poem only you can write.
Build the bridge only you can build.
Tell the story only you can tell.
Be the friend only you can be.
Sing the song only you can sing.
Pray the prayer only you can pray.
Follow the dream only you can follow.
Give the gift only you can give.
Believe the miracle only you can believe.
Take the chance only you can take.
Bear the burden only you can bear.
Bring the joy only you can bring.
See the light only you can see.
Change the world only you can change.
Share the peace only you can share.
Take the path only you can take.
Live the life only you can live.
Be the person only you can be.