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.

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.

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.

Ears to Hear and Hands to Hold

Can we hear the call as we sit in silence in our rooms,
Or do we only hear it in the clamoring of creation?
How do we discern whether the voice calling is true,
Or a lead to a lesser life than we are meant to live?

What is our meter of discernment for the voice of The Almighty;
Will an angel stop my folly, as was done for Abraham?
Some say the only way to perfection is never to do;
Dare I act without a guide for my faith and my feet?

Please give me patience that I may wait for your assignments;
Give me the humility to understand that I cannot act alone.
Give me guides that hear your voice in the clanging of creation,
And hands to hold as I begin anew this journey as your pure child.

Path to Paradise

Is all religion an effort to tame the savage beast that resides inside our souls? Can we ever become all that we are meant to be without tapping into our own inner divinity -- our own "image and likeness of God?"

Isn't the ability to make decisions on how much of our inner divinity we will cultivate and contribute to our earth that which makes us different from the rest of creation? How much more wonderful our world would be if every day we asked ourselves what we can do to increase the flow of the Divine Energy in and through our contacts with creation.

If we are following a path to the Wholeness of Divinity, the light draws us ever onward toward itself. Our lives become less about rules against actions and more about what promotes peace on the path to the fullness of our shared Divinity. All our actions that are off this path will give us a feeling of isolation, leading us to once again seek the unity with others walking the right way. Any that we have pushed off the path by our actions against them, we will seek to once more embrace and include in our walk in grace. Those who have pushed us, we will pray for while we continue our walk.

This eternal longing for unity with The Divine is the condition of all of creation, and can only be completed in the fullness of time. Meanwhile, we must keep our sights set on the divine duties of our own work and honoring the divine in the work and being of each other and all creation. This creates a continuum of the path to paradise "on earth as it is in heaven."

Easter Epiphany

It is Easter! Let us arise
And find our better selves
That inside us reside.
Let us throw off the greed
And the jealousy
And find the people
Which we're meant to be.
Let us live in the glow
Of Infinite Love
Uniting earth with
The grace from above.

A Legacy of Love

The House by the Side of the Road
by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911)

There are hermit
souls that live withdrawn
In the peace of their self-content;
There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
Where highways never ran;-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house
by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner’s seat,
Or hurl the cynic’s ban;-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I see from my house
by the side of the road,
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife.
But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears-
Both parts of an infinite plan;-
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened
meadows ahead
And mountains of wearisome height;
That the road passes on through the long afternoon
And stretches away to the night.
But still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice,
And weep with the strangers that moan,
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my
house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish- so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner’s seat
Or hurl the cynic’s ban?-
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I'm not sure that when Walter Foss wrote that poem, he was talking about living on Highway 68. Charlie loved to tell how when he moved to Coker Creek, you could set up a card table in the middle of Highway 68 and play all day without being disturbed. His constant complaint was about all the trucks and crotch rockets barreling past his place at breakneck speed. I'm not sure what upset him most about that the fact that Bootsie, his cat, couldn't roam free, or the fact that none of those barreling past his place ever stopped to say hello.

It didn't matter what time of day or night a person drove into his driveway, Charlie greeted that person with a smile and a hug...and a story. Charlie had stories about everything from his childhood adventures, to rum running, to religion. He said what was on his heart and mind, and lived what he believed. He was the only person I ever knew who actually thanked me for arguing with him without getting (in his words)"all pissy."

One of his favorite sayings was, "A hypocrite I'm not; a Christian, I am." We know that Jesus' time on the earth was spent collecting people, feeding them, loving them, and leading them on the road to salvation. Charlie lived his life doing similar things. He seemed to know everything about whatever he loved, and couldn't wait to take you along to enjoy what he loved with him.

If ever one wanted a tour guide, Charlie was your man. It was often a wild ride taking a tour with Charlie. He'd drive these curves with one hand on the wheel and one eye on the road. How we ever stayed on the tarmac is a wonder to me, as he was usually turned toward the person to whom he was talking. Now Charlie is, I'm sure, giving tours of heaven. I figure that The Almighty needed a great tour guide who could make getting to heaven look like a fun ride.

We all leave a legacy when we physically leave this earth. Some leave great fortunes to continue the work of their favorite charities; some leave laughter and love. Love is the legacy of our friend Charlie. He truly lived on the side of the road and was a friend to every man, woman, and child that crossed his path. I'm so glad to have been one of those people.