Sunday, May 29, 2011

Power and Prayer

I have a hard time reconciling killing of humans with Christianity. We are told that Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple, so I assume he used some force to banish them. I also assume that he was angry that they were perverting the ways of worship. We are also told that, rather than defend himself, or let others exact retribution in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus forgave and healed his attackers.

What does this say to us about how to protect ourselves and those we love from attacks on our bodies and attacks on our values? Are we to turn the other cheek even to those who are leading our children astray? How much force are we allowed to use in preventing people from selling out our most sacred ideals?

Before Jesus came to the Jews and Gentiles with a message of, not only earthly justice, but eternal forgiveness and inclusion, there were many biblical tales of God supporting the killing of non-believers. Did the new covenant destroy the old or did it simply add a new dimension to ways in which to spread the seeds of salvation?

How do we balance our duty to protect the ways that we believe will lead to eternal unity with the forgiveness and inclusion of those who seek to sow discord and destruction? I attempt to simply stay on my path and invite others to walk with me
teaching me what they are experiencing on their paths to paradise. This is much simpler now that my children are grown, but when they were still in my care I would have fought to the death to protect them from predators.

Another generation of my family is now vulnerable by virtue of having little ones. Who is to protect them from perversions as they seek to define their own families' paths to peace? Are we meant to be powerless to do anything when under attack, other than to pray?

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Holiness and Hypocrisy

While I am thrilled that I was exposed at an early age to the life of Jesus, I am disturbed by those who believe that the only way to obtain salvation is to verbally declare Jesus Christ as one's personal lord and savior. What of those who follow lives of the love that comes from and leads back to The Creator? Aren't these people, to the best of their abilities, following the same path that Jesus himself trod?

Isn't it possible that when Jesus was talking to his disciples, he was telling them that he had shown them the way to walk the walk of salvation; therefore, they had no good excuse for straying and possibly setting a bad example for others? Maybe we're expected to help others to salvation with our walk, not with our talk. And when we do talk, perhaps we should be careful not to show ourselves to be hypocrites. Maybe it's time we all check our behaviors against our espoused beliefs.

Isn't it also possible that we each experience Divinity in the manifestations meant for our own salvation? In my religious upbringing, I was taught that The Almighty has appeared in many guises over the centuries. If we can believe that The Spirit appeared as a burning bush, why can't we accept the spiritual visions of other religions as valid manifestations of Divinity on the path to Perfect Love?

Groups often reject those who won't reject or ridicule the "others." I'm concerned that our self-proclaimed Christian country has more and more defined itself by who we reject and ridicule. I don't think that this is the way to salvation.

Blessed indeed are those who find fellowship in their walk with their own experience of The Spirit.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Responsibility and Rescue

"Give me your car keys, but don't tell me what to do."
This has been the demand of teenagers, more than a few.
We treat Our Creator and communities the same way,
Expecting rescue, after not giving them a say.
How often are we able to enter another's hell
Without ending up destroyed, as well?

We must have many others to hold onto us
Before we attempt rescue of those we can't trust
To adhere to the values the team has defined;
Only then can we carry the fallen as we climb
Out of the pit of stubborn individuality,
Back to the partnerships in which we were meant to be.

Friday, May 20, 2011

What to Do With Our Wisdom?

A great sadness to me is the lack of bonding between my children, their children, my nieces and nephews, and my husband. This seems to be the product of my husband's belief that children are the province of the women, and that man's job is simply to support the moms. He usually interjects his opinions only when directly asked. If only they sought more contact with him, he would have so much to offer them.

His quiet good humor is, in the words of a friend, like that of "a happy baby." His dogged determination to complete projects with great care and precision, no matter the obstacles facing him, is to be admired. For this, he gets much ridicule in our "hurry up and get it done" world.

I have heard it said that we form our beliefs about God in watching how our father's behave. If this is true, I think we could do with more people in positions of authority who exhibit patience, determination, and good humor, especially toward those who are most vulnerable in society.

Why is it that so few enjoy life's processes? Isn't serenity built on the belief that life is a journey, not a destination? How many actually live in the small moments that make up life, rather than incessantly focusing on "what's next?"

In evaluating life, I have come to the belief that our old age is a gift to us and the generations coming after us; a time when we are tasked with imparting to our youth the lessons we have learned. What are we to do with all the wisdom if the children we have so loved turn away from us?

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Control of a Soul

When we give ourselves over to The Spirit
We become as open as babies again.
We must then be careful who we,
Into our hearts, let in.
There are those who say they love us,
But they do not want to, in The Spirit, stay.
And while we are trusting them,
They, on our innocence, prey.

Those who really love us
Will not help us hurt ourselves.
They will raise us up
To The Goodness that indwells.
How hurtful it is on earth
There are many who want power,
And use our vulnerability
To, on us, evil shower.

Thus they seek control
Of our newly awakened souls.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Eternal Eyes

Did Judas despair because he hadn't been true to himself?
What becomes of us if we keep turning our backs on who we are
And continue pretending we're someone else?
Sometimes we have to look to others who love us when we are lost;
Our true friends will help us find our real and best selves,
No matter what their personal costs.

We can seek answers by running from one expert to another,
And take drugs with which we blind our sights;
But personal truth resides in to our own faith-filled sisters and brothers.
They will see our strengths through Eternal eyes,
Help us separate our wheat from our chaff.
In the midst of these Light Of Love people,
We can find a true self that lasts.

Monday, May 16, 2011

From Earth to Eternity

Do we ever stop longing for our children to come home,
Even when they have lives and children of their own?
Perhaps it is like the longing also of The Creator
Hoping we will return to our sanctified natures.

As parents we must set them free to explore their own values,
Even when they are not the life systems that we choose.
We pray they find their own paths that will eventually lead
Back to the Light of Love that we all so desperately need.

It may not happen in our time or our earthly place
Because we are unable to, ancestral hurts, erase.
We stand with open hearts and arms hoping for reunion
In the Eternity in which we will, with The Creator, be one

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Amends and Alienation

I don't often ask for leadership roles,
Yet many have followed me.
I'm often going down blind alleys
Just to see what I can see.

I am told that I was the leader
Of my sisters and brothers.
What is it about my presence
That instills confidence in others?

Am I really responsible for
The wrong turns they've taken?
Or have they, their own
Accountability forsaken?

I have come to ask myself
If I'm a poisonous presence
With a faulty set of values
As my very essence.

I have thought that I encouraged
Those I love to strive to be
The very best of themselves
That I thought I could see.

Perhaps I was mistaken
And was encouraging false pride,
As my mother often said
Of me before she died.

I am now left with doubt
And am filled with fear
That I've actually been destroying
Those I had held most dear.

It seems that my attempts
At making earthly amends
Has led to my alienating
Those I thought were friends.

Should I now hide myself
In stark solitude,
Praying for forgiveness
For having destroyed good?

I am waiting for a mission
To present itself.
Or am I really hoping
That I can become someone else?

Friday, May 13, 2011

My Celestial System

It would be so easy never to love, once so much of what we loved has been lost.
If we do this while bringing up children, their bonds to us are the cost.
I spent so very much of my life running away from life's pain;
Each time, my children pulled me back into loving again.
My children are grown, but I'm still connected to people who love me most dear.
As long as I want others in my life, I'm open to love and loss; that's clear.

Relationships work in cycles: I may be up when you are down.
We all need many in our lives, so we don't in each other's sorrows, drown.
We simply have to be careful in choosing partners on our path
Making sure we don't choose others who put our community last.
Fairness may not be the norm in which we, outside our community, live;
But caring and sharing is what I want those in my life to give.

Sometimes I'm disappointed that my people take more than their share
It is often a challenge to, for these needy people, continue to care.
It is sadly true that often, the caring has to be done from afar
Because there are those who want to be the sun instead of a single star.
My universe is a celestial system with many stars burning bright;
With all of us being powered by The Spirit's holy light.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Rebellion and Righteousness

As we grow, we often rebel,
Most often, against the lies.
The inconsistencies between the rules
And what we see with our own eyes.

As adults we spend much time
Rebelling against our best selves,
Instead of choosing from the many
Right examples that in us dwell.

It seems that we are driven
To become that which we fear,
To embrace and follow the falacies
That once, to us, were clear.

Instead of holding onto those
From our broken pasts,
We can reach out for others
Who, to our strengths, hold fast.

But we chafe at this notion
That we can begin again.
Is it really easier to
In our own hell remain?

In order to become righteous
We must put aside our ancestors' wrongs.
Only then will we be able
To, in our new selves, stand strong.

We must join with a community
That follows a stewardship code,
And offer our strengths to others
To help lighten humanity's load.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

I Was Wrong

To be accomplished liars we must lie to ourselves
Before we're believed by somebody else.
Beginning with small deceptions along the way,
We carefully craft what we think and say.

We can hide from the truth, but it won't die
No matter how hard we may earnestly try
To pretend our history wasn't our own,
And that, in our fantasies, we feel at home.

The most important words are, "I was wrong
To betray the trust for which you long."
No excuses, put my old ways away,
And in the present commit to stay.

To give myself over to the tasks
That create a bond of trust that will last,
And every day to awake to see
The best in you and be the best me.

But this is not what liars do
We convince ourselves we're glad to be through
With the work and challenges partnerships take;
We congratulate ourselves on making the break.

What do we think is to be our end
When we are left with not one friend
Who knows our hearts and helps us to be,
From our lies to ourselves, finally free?

Our Own Hell

Some of us cannot ever feel free
Until we are faced with being lonely,
Not anyone to tell us what to do,
And the people who care are only a few.

At first we want to celebrate;
All our whims no longer have to wait.
Then we pine for loving arms to hold
When we're no longer feeling so bold.

In the end, those who constantly rebel
Enter their own versions of hell,
Where the only thing we see is ourselves,
And in this prison we eternally dwell.

We must look to others to really see
All that we are meant to be.
But if from community we turn away,
We'll forever in our own hell stay.

Monday, May 9, 2011

A Love That Will Last

My relationship wasn't with you; it was with a ghost,
The person whose life affected you most.
From others you have turned away,
Choosing to, in a dead relationship, stay.

As I could never make peace with this other,
So we were left with a cloud that would smother
All our attempts to begin anew,
Shared by the efforts of more than a few.

It is with great sadness I say good-bye
To the relationship that I now know was a lie.
I must finally let both false relationships die;
At least, I know I gave it my best try.

You have set yourself a near impossible task,
To remake yourself while in old habits you bask.
Go with love and make peace with your past;
Maybe then we can form a love that will last.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Eternal Evidence

Apparently there are women who thought it a joke
When presented with the words that God supposedly spoke
In creating woman and making a man
To enter humans into the eternal plan.

I wasn't taught that there were two
Stories of Genesis, so who knew?
One says God created man and woman;
One says that woman was taken from man.

Doesn't this point to evidence
That The Almighty in many guises presents?
We are to each ask for our own guidance
To become to The Almighy a princess or prince.

Friday, May 6, 2011

A Mother's Musing

You walked away from me and left a hole in my heart.
In filling it up, I hardly know where to start.
I thought we spoke the truth, one to the other,
As seemed to be the way between grown child and mother.
Now, you've turned away. Will you be returning?
A joyful reunion is that for which I'm yearning.
But, I fear that you'll want us to replace each other.
Have you decided that you don't want or need a mother?
I cannot ever be simply your peer group friend;
There have been too many paths I've followed to the end.
I've gained much wisdom on my journey that I'd like to share.
Please remember in your walk through life how much I still care.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Awaken Anew

Bring me your burdens;
They are not burdensome to me.
I will be a sponge for your sadness,
So you can arise and be.
My hope is for your tomorrow
To be fresh and clear as the dew,
A life of love in which you waken anew.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Offering Amends

A way to peace is offering amends,
Sometimes making enemies friends.
But to push oneself on another
Doesn't create a loving brother.
When we want unity there must be a path
Of common ground for relationships to last.
We must focus on the greater good
To get past the hurts on which we brood.
Sometimes relationships require a reset
For the needs of our community to be met.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Communion

When do we know what we really want,
Not only what doesn't work for me?
The most daunting thing in life
Is to be completely free.

To act as if we're islands,
Who have no responsibility
To anyone but ourselves,
To be what we want to be.

Who would care what we do,
Whether we fail or succeed?
Who would be there for us
When we have a need?

It is important to choose a family
Of those who share our goals;
This is what is meant by
The communion of our souls.