Unexamined Emotions

Is remorse actually a form of self-centeredness?
Is examining one's own actions a form of arrogance?
Are we to put so little value on ourselves
That we understand our actions matter not to others?

The unexamined life is said to be" not worth living"
Jews, including Jesus, taught repentance and remorse.
Can we make amends if we don't think about our parts
In the conflicts with others in which we find ourselves?

And is remorse useful without a plan for change,
In order to keep often repeated conflict at bay?
Repentance can only lead to relationships
When both parties have an equal stake in peace.

We are given permission to walk away from others
If there is not common value in seeking unity.
We still carry on with the unresolved emotions.
Is there no prescription for how to heal ourselves?

It seems it's not only the sins of suffering parents
That are passed on to generations of their progeny,
But also the unresolved emotional turmoil
That, at death, still infects the parents' souls.


Where are the committed church tribunals,
And those who are ready to act as mediators,
To whom do we take our most precious
Problems in our community relationships?


Many finally pull back from contact with society,
Afraid of the burden of causing more pain.
Forgiveness shouldn't mean foolishly
Knocking on a locked door again and again.

The psychologists say it's depression;
The lawyers say it's the end of love;
The penitents say pray for forgiveness.
Who is willing to help heal the breach?

I have no use for magical churches
That use spells and incantations.
Give me communities committed
To resurrecting dying relationships.

The Divine in Our Time

What people call "atheists" may simply be rejecting
The limiting definitions of the manifestations of Good.
Perhaps what many mean when they say they're atheistic
Is that they don't believe that Divinity can be defined.

Why do we insist on limiting the manifestations of Divinity
To only those that were written about long before our time?
Divinity can't be codified or limited to our own experience.
Is it not time to stop the naming and hating of "heretics"?

It seems that having faith is very much like making soup;
Calling it the same thing doesn't make it taste just the same.
Each person of faith we encounter tells the stories differently;
My religious friends' "Gods" sound mighty different to me.

One speaks of the God of revenge and restitution;
Another speaks of the God of sacrifice and pain.
Even the ones who seem to celebrate The Spirit
Still tend to limit their scope to their own scriptural homes.

How many times are we willing to repeat the "Holy" wars
Before we finally stop allowing human families to be slain?
Are we destined to forever repeat our painful history,
Or are we ready for the world to become the promised land?

Why are we afraid to hear what other people believe?
Why do we get angry when our own beliefs are questioned?
How many of us even understand where our beliefs originate?
How many of us know the sins of our own faith's history?

It seems that all faiths have a journey from fear of the unknown
To a place where the faith must go forward or it will die.
Growth is never comfortable; it takes much introspection
In order to plan the way that will lead us in a forward path.

Why do we insist on appointing others to study and think for us?
Don't we know that faith is shared in ways that agree with words?
Awe of The Almighty Universal Energy that sparks all life
Is an act of life-affirming adoration, unlike the culture of fear.

Faith is shared person-to-person, looking at the soul in one's eyes;
Teaching is best done in wondering and working side-by-side.
What we daily experience is what we most learn to live;
Words are subject to interpretation based on our own beliefs.

I'll heed the words of the people who daily celebrate,
And share their own blessings with a sense of gratitude.
I'll follow the leader who is singing while laboring,
Sharing in the burdens of those that their societies shun.

Democracy and Depravity

One doesn't have to be a Communist to distrust unfettered competition;
Jealousy and a desire to possess put our world in its current position.
Adam and Eve were jealous of  unneeded universal knowledge,
And Cain killed his brother Abel to satisfy a jealous grudge.

It seems to be that mindless competition is the root of our downfall;
Climbing up on vanquished others doesn't actually make one tall.
The secret of true strength is to maximize each other on a team.
This will not only build community; it builds our self-esteem.

The rules of successful community are written in the commandments,
But there are many greedy souls who don't give others a chance.
They seem to want to always be the top of the community heap;
Once they achieve power, their evil they begin to reap.

They then make themselves into monarchs pretending to protect
The shoulders on which they stand, but otherwise reject.
They hide behind the system which worships earthly gain.
If we continue not to call them out, will only they remain?

We must be willing to all become community builders,
Not using religion, race, gender or creed as our filters.
We are not England or a European nation of kings;
We are strong because we assimilate many disparate things.

Let us begin to actively support diversity of strengths,
And join together to tear down the monarchical pretense.
There is no such thing as a "government" program in democracy;
No person or corporation should exempt themselves from paying fees.

The people receiving their social security checks today
Did not contribute what, from our budget, we now must pay.
The babies born before they are ready to live on their own
Will take much from the medical system, statistics have shown.

The people who don't want babies, they only want unfettered sex,
We refuse to pay for society, from their fertility, to protect.
But we continue to pay much to try to rescue the child
That will probably never be more productive than animals in the wild.

The weapons that kill many who are supporting their young
Are taking resources from which humanitarian efforts could be wrung.
If we want true equality and justice in our world and nation,
We must have companies bonded on teamwork instead of corporations.

For every service and every program we want for ourselves
There is accompanying cost on which we'd rather not dwell.
Taxpayers should be able to count on everyone paying his or her way,
Not exempting those who have the most political sway.

The answer is not in mindless protests to say what we won't do;
The answer is in asking on what effort each of us is willing to crew.
Every decision should be based on acceptance of responsibility;
There aren't any solutions that come to us completely free.

"God" may provide, but does so with our human hands;
The sharing of our strengths is what true humanity demands.
The belief that some are born to lead and some to be enslaved
Has, for too many generations, kept humanity depraved.

Demand Democracy

Our republic has long-since stopped representing me.
Is our still-young country now ready for democracy?
Are we ready to grow up, and stop looking for human saviors?
As free adults, we are all responsible for our own behaviors.

Our country was not created to be led by corporations,
And the constitution left out those from lower stations.
We have the ability and right to fix it in these times
By refusing to backslide in our equality climb.

The conversation in our country is full of abject fear,
Instead of the values that we each hold most dear.
Perhaps it's time to take our history books off the shelf.
It is still true that the only "thing to fear is fear itself."

The Bible tells of centuries of "eye for eye" and "tooth for tooth",
But this only leads to more bloodshed, is the eternal truth.
We are told to love our enemies. In the Divine earthly plan,
Love begins with the attempt to, their grievances, understand.

We ridicule those who want to have fruitful conversations,
Instead of riding out to destroy or conquer other nations.
How many of us have read the histories of other faiths?
Without knowledge, how can we justify hating other races?

There is so much similarity in the stories of all families;
Things go wrong when we confuse our wants with needs.
Perhaps the real reason for so much natural disaster
Is to bring out the best in people that we see shortly after.

Let us learn from our service people what they have to say
About the families they met while they were far away.
If we would ask them about their lives in other places
We may see our family values in these non-white faces,


We don't need pundits and politicians who create fear;
More individuals need personal missions that are clear.
Perhaps we should stop participating in religious wars.
Isn't this what Christianity is supposed to be for?

Perhaps Israel should not be a country, but a state of mind;
To the possibility of heaven on earth we continue to be blind.
I believe my country of birth has the greatest potential
To solve the ongoing problems that are so elemental.

We went through killing each other over slavery and greed;
Corporations have created an underclass of unjust need.
The only way to break the cycle of an unjust nation
Is to bond together in our democracy's celebration.

We must speak out in informed, intelligent conversation
About our vision for our world and our own nation.
True change in all nations comes from peaceful protest;
Rallies for true democracy are what I humbly suggest.

We must take back our country from career politicians,
Becoming educated enough to make wise decisions.
We must make our voices heard above the corporations;
Lack of personal responsibility is what's killing our nation.

I am willing to wager my life that there are still those
Who, like our founding fathers, to national service, are disposed.
What about our billionaires serving in other countries?
Don't we think they may serve their own country for free?

The old folks must stop resenting being asked to step away,
And the young must be open to what the elders have to say.
But as long as every conversation begins with fear and anger,
Our country and world will continue to be in grave danger.

Let's begin with respectful listening to others' ideas,
Stop turning into anger all our unwarranted fears.
And if we are angry at anyone, let it be our obligation
To use that energy to break the cycle of fear ruling our nation.

We must put down our drugs, our alcohol, and our guns;
If we bond together, peacefully, we can't all be made to run.
We are killing ourselves to hide our righteous passion;
I've heard a purpose-driven life is now all the fashion.

No revolution goes forward without the bright flame
Of those who will no longer accept more of the same.
This is not now the time to pray for personal peace;
This is the time to unite to help make injustice cease.

Creeds and Greed

That all creation is a sacred trust; when will we understand

It is only lent for safekeeping to the homo sapiens?

We must realize that all of ownership is but an illusion, 

Ancient humans had already reached that conclusion.

Those who insist on absolute ownership deny
The richness of creation to all outside their tribes.
Despots make rules to keep others at bay,
Not even obeying what they, themselves, say.

Creeds are often used as a means to exclude,
More than they're about who we include.
I would rather have a great big tent
To whom all those needing boundaries are sent.

I don't set the rules, but I accept
There may be reasons to, others, reject.
Some want nothing but anarchy,
So that they're free from community.


There is no anarchy in animal tribes
There's always a leader behind whom others hide.
But even the animals won't follow those
Who don't follow rules that, on others, they impose


We can't accept any who easily dispose
Of the rules our community will propose.
They may get expelled if they refuse to adhere
To the values that our community holds most dear.

There will always be a place at the table
For those who want to hear the fables
That are simply communication tools
For sharing of the boundaries and rules.

We are like sheep following wolves
Who consume, rather than protect, our young
It is time that we create new heroes
About whom our hymns will being sung.

Let's sing of the dedicated fathers and mothers
Who are faithful to community and to each other.
There is no greater bravery than making a stand
In bringing up children to be responsible humans.

Chivalry and Civilization

As a woman who has paid dearly for the progress women have made since the early sixties, I am passionately involved in the quest to pass on the lessons learned without swinging the pendulum back to the days before women had any legal rights. As long as young women continue to want to invent everything on their own, with no protection or guidance from those who have gone before, our society is in grave danger of backsliding. I'm not interested in continuing conversations that don't attempt to include our male partners who have held to the lessons of the ages for nurturing of the human animal. 

Every girl who has reached her menarche is vulnerable to being forced into motherhood. Every woman gestating a child, every mother still caring for children is vulnerable, and needs some source of outside protection. Women are refusing to take our men to task, using them as toys as the men pretend to be vulnerable. DNA testing has given us way to assign legal responsibility for paternity. It is time that we also demand moral (responsible) behavior from our men. When young women stop shunning the strengths of the matriarchs, we will bring men in line.

I strongly believe that chivalry has a place in our society, even today. I believe it is the responsibility of women to demand nothing less from our men, and to teach our partners and sons to act in such a manner. I'd like the matriarchs who have fought for our families and our freedoms to come together to form a new direction for our society, one that includes the voices and strengths of males and females, young and old, rich and poor. 

The soul of civilized society is at stake. I believe that chivalry is the way to form a protective barrier around the vulnerable while the individual members of society grow strong enough to contribute. We must mobilize or shun our men. I would prefer to mobilize mine, even though he is an old lion who, by rights, should be able to now rest. We have granddaughters, so we won't rest until we know that we have done all in our power to secure a moral vision based on responsibility for ourselves and our universal community.

We may have peace wrapped in the warm arms of our sisters and mothers, but there are still important battles to be fought by the women warriors who are finished using our awesome energy to protect our own young in a world full of soulless animals. 

"The Knight's Code of Chivalry was a moral system that stated all knights should protect others who can not protect themselves, such as widows, children, and elders. All knights needed to have the strength and skills to fight wars in the Middle Ages. Knights not only had to be strong but they were also extremely disciplined and were expected to use their power to protect the weak and defenceless. Knights vowed to be loyal, generous, and "noble bearing". Knights were required to tell the truth at all times and always respect the honour of women. Knights not only vowed to protect the weak but also vowed to guard the honour of all fellow knights. They always had to obey those who were placed in authority and were never allowed to refuse a challenge from an equal. Knights lived by honor and for glory. Knights were to fear God and maintain His Church. Knights always kept their faith and never turned their back on a foe. Knights despised pecuniary reward. They persevered to the end in any enterprise begun. The main vow from the knights was that they shall fight for the welfare of all.^[1]"

^ Davis, Alex (2004). Chilvary, and Romance in the English Renaissance. Woodcock, Matthew... from Wikipedia

Surrendering Sanity

Why is it that women have to act stark-staring crazy to convince those we love the most that they need to take definitive action? Have we made a terrible mistake with all of our love coming from the same well as our mothering? Whoever came up with the concept that men protect women, but that men need no protection certainly was never in a real marriage.

I thought I was through with mothering when my children made it clear that they wanted no further help with mothering their children. I have long known about myself that the only people on earth that I was willing to give my life for were my children and (if necessary) their children. I reasoned that this was because I had responsibility for bringing innocent souls into this not-so-innocent world. I have found out that I was sorely mistaken.

My long-suffering husband waited in the wings for over twenty years for me to mother him with the full intensity of my passion. He had saved me from financial ruin, supported me while I mothered countless relatives and neighbors, held me when I was nothing but a husk, and drained of all energy in my soul.

The cost to him seemed to matter little. Never did he complain. Even my efforts, and those of my family and our friends, to save his life were really more about my need for him than about his hanging on to his own life. He seems to take all of life, including death, in stride. He has said that he refuses to live a life of fear. He allowed me to handle all the fear while he continued to provide. He even had every insurance one could imagine to protect me when he's gone.

When I began to feel like the burden was too great, I simply lay down and handed it all to him. He has been handling it, but I still felt scared. I tried laughing, crying, screaming. writing, and singing  out my anxiety. None of it did any good until I did all of these things at the same time, and threatened to abandon him. Now, he's paying attention and accepting help in finding answers. It only took five years of lunatic behavior. How was I to know that I had to surrender my sanity for him to understand how much I love him? Maybe as much as I love my children, because I've certainly gone insane more than once for them.