Lies About Loneliness

I'm tired of people telling me that I won't be lonesome if I pray;
If God hadn't been lonesome, why would we on this earth play?
If Adam and Eve were made to keep God, and each other, company,
Why should I believe that adults are, from this need, free?

We need people who understand us and want to share our lives;
This is how The Spirit of Wholeness is meant to thrive.
Men and women are afraid to admit to their vulnerability;
It is truly not a good idea without shared responsibility.

In my marriage, the man is the one whose arms are strong,
And he fills me with the strength to sing our joyful song.
In other marriages, it is the man with the tender heart;
Does it really matter who plays which important part?

We have given to each other the keys to our spiritual doors;
I have tried with others, but our society's soil for growth was poor.
It takes absolute commitment to something bigger than oneself
To give our egos over to becoming partners with someone else.

New families, like new trees, must be nurtured until they grow roots,
But the young couples must be freed to find their own unified truths.
The elders may act as wind breaks in the many coming storms,
But to stand too closely and hold too tight will bring the new tree harm.

Even with our best care, some sapling relationships wither and die;
Our hope is that the broken and lonely souls will continue to try
To find one who completes the circle of strength with Holiness an the center.
This can only happen to those who keep their souls open to being entered.

We have lost the ritual dance of courtship that gave couples strong bonds;
It is not enough that two people, for each other, feel fond.
There should be a learning of the resources each one brings;
For a new family to be strong requires many things.

We must all have the moral courage to say to one another
The truth about the strengths and weaknesses of our sisters and brothers.
When we don't seek the blessings of others in our support network,
Why are we surprised when, their community duties, they shirk?

Holy marriage is like the sun emitting life-giving rays;
It is not meant that the energy, only in the marriage, stays.
We are to radiate to others all that Holy Power of shared life.
This, I believe, is the purpose of becoming man and wife.

You Are Not the Boss of Me!

"A rose by any other name still smells as sweet." William Shakespeare

Why do we continue to kill each other over a name, or a manifestation of Holiness? Is light really the colors of the rainbow, or is it invisible? If I whisper in the ear of one person, can the others in a room truly testify that I said nothing, simply because they didn't hear my words? Children love secrets, and they want to share this form of intimacy with all their most special people. We can all hear Holiness speaking in our ears if we keep quiet long enough, because we are all the most special.

Do you remember what it was like before you went to school and were told that you couldn't draw and color properly? When the words that you spoke didn't have to conform to a certain size and shape on paper? Do you remember when your day dreaming was welcomed by your elders because it gave them a moment's respite from your constant questions? Do you remember when you could see yourself as a hero in your head and nobody could convince you that you were not the most marvelous one in the room?

Why can't we leave each other alone enough to let each person dance in their own internal light? I can draw, even if it's only in my head. I can color, even if I still can't stay in the lines. The face I see when I think of the Spirit of Wholeness changes with my mood and the things I hear, feel, and see. In my heart I am a princess, but that doesn't mean you can't also be a princess, prince, hero, or heroine. Sometimes, we simply have to parallel play in order to get along. And, you are not the boss of me!

The Route Which I Rather

I watch with sadness as people protect their emotions from me;
My passion doesn't mean that, from moral boundaries, I'm free.
I will no longer be held responsible for the temptations of others;
This burden has been carried too long by the generations of our mothers.

We all need celebration because we're all children under our skins.
When we accept that adults must be passionless, depression settles in.
Most children naturally celebrate each moment and every new sensation;
It is our own fear of losing control that puts an end to their elation.

Once something is accepted in our heads, how do we make our hearts go along?
Do we simply accept on faith that we will, one day, sing joyful songs?
Do we have a responsibility to actively seek joy in our lives;
Or is martyrdom of spirit what it takes for our souls to survive?

I have no issue with suffering when one is working toward a goal,
But turning triumph into tragedy seems to make many feel whole.
They wear their pain like purple hearts for everyone to see,
And to inflict their pain on others seems to fill their hearts with glee.

Why do we focus so much time worshiping the sad martyrs,
When we should be rejoicing as Creation's sons and daughters?
All passion can be productive; but we've turned passion into pain and fear.
Being made ashamed to show even love to those we hold most dear.

If you want to know my boundaries, ask what I've learned in my eventful life.
Don't assume that because I laugh, it has been free from strife.
But very few want to hear of the wisdom I have gathered,
So living with less people has become the life route which I rather.

Hurtful Humor

I've hurt another friend's feelings with what comes out of my mouth. I'm sorry, but I'm worn out by making amends for my lifetime of mistakes. I hope she will forgive me and we can move on.

The first rule of humor is to know your audience. The inside jokes that I share with my son make some people itch, but I don't necessarily know who these people are or what offends them until they begin scratching. As a class clown, I sometimes step over the lines into what some think is inappropriate. Most people can't seem to define what they find inappropriate ahead of time, but they know their own boundaries when someone steps on them. As a woman, I'm apparently supposed to already know these things.

A true friend will tell me they are offended and move on to the rest of our relationship. If I value the friend's feelings, I will attempt to change my behavior while with that person. This doesn't become a matter of right and wrong; it is a matter of valuing each other's feelings. It may limit the occasions in which we relate, but it will hopefully not adversely affect the underlying relationship.

I grew up with boy country cousins my age, four brothers, and a Cajun culture on my daddy's side. These were earthy people who used humor to cope with all the scary things in life. I really embraced this coping strategy; it seemed preferable to hiding in my room like my older sister or being angry all they time like my almost twin.

I did have to learn some modicum of decorum when I was raising a sweet, gentle daughter in the Bible belt, but it sweetness never came naturally to me. I looked forward to getting old because old people can get away with almost anything...until their children have them declared incompetent and send them to nursing homes. I was so sure that moving back to my baudy beginnings would provide the atmosphere I needed to truly be my most brazen and baudy self, but it seems the only hope for me is to hang exclusively with men. Most of them seem to be immune to my indiscretions, but even this leaves me in a quandary.

There are still many who believe that a woman can't truly be friends with a man without the threat of a physical relationship. And, at least in the south, there are still people who think that men and women can't have a discussion in the same room. I had so embraced the whole women's lib movement because I thought it would bring down those barriers, but boy was I wrong!

My problem is in finding how to put the genie back in the bottle after five years in the forest with my man who grew up on a farm and went to all-boy boarding schools. Until I get my mind back into motherhood mode, I guess I'd better keep my lips zipped. Either that or the rest of my life I'll be doing penance for the hurt I have placed on other people.

Does God Giggle?

Does God giggle, or is He always "Harrumphing?"
Because if God doesn't tickle or giggle,
I know I wouldn't be happy in heaven.
And what about all this singing stuff
For those who can hardly carry a tune?
Will the little angels without music or song
Fly forever in silent stupors?

Will there be wet kisses and snuggles up in heaven
Or will the saints send the children
To another room to play?
It seems a shame that the glorified bodies
Will never experience hunger or thirst.
Homemade lemonade, sno balls, and
Fresh baked cookies it seems will also be out.

Children seem to be the cherubim already among us;
They sing the songs of joy and hope
So we look forward to another day.
If all our passions are to be pushed down
And quiet is the only way to peace,
Why look forward to a paradise,
Where no one will ever giggle again?

Dependence and Divinity

We are each free and dependent on the actions of others.
We are all sadly mistaken when we choose to believe that we
Are all free do what we want and to be whatever we want to be;

Don't insist that we share our paths to paradise.
The important thing is finding the path to our final destination;
We have all been given separate ways to fulfill the missions of our creation.

I do not think that force is a way to become one.
There are many pretending to follow paths in which they don't believe;
This does not mean that, our own faith directives, they've achieved.

Many know the outside, but don't dig deeply.
I have mistakenly challenged the beliefs of others;
Hence, I've lost relationships with sisters and brothers.

Faith is supposed to bring peaceful acceptance.
I was taught to question authority, rules, and regulations;
This seems to lead to the discord faiths sow in earth's many nations.

I have found one thing to be universally true.
We'll never find peace until we honor the sacred in each bit of creation;
We must faithfully work together to achieve all of creation's salvation.

Fanning the Flames of Friendship

"There is nothing else exactly like the joy of friendship. It is such a blessing to have a person on earth in whom you can confide with confidence. However, that is just a small taste of what it is like to have a relationship with the son of God. Jesus is a friend that 'sticketh closer than a brother'." This is a quote from a follower of this blog who is a man of the cloth and a life-long missionary.

I'm currently recuperating from surgery. It is the friends who surround me with their willing hands, offered with loving hearts that sustain me. They may be praying for me in the silence of their rooms, but they also put their prayers in action when asked for assistance in healing and nourishing my body and those of their fellow friends. They have laid their loving hands on each other and on me with hugs, kind words, gifts of laughter and reminiscences, time simply watching and waiting, and many meals. All of this ministry fans the flames of our friendship, drawing us ever closer to each other.

I believe that we are all siblings in Divinity, and that Jesus is an exemplar for how to be the best family of humanity members we can be. He combined the extreme power of his own Divinity with the rules for right living handed down to him from the many generations of righteous ancestors preceding him. He taught us a new way, not through blood but through our Spirits of Divinity, to connect to our fellow humans. He set this example by being fully human and fully friend to all who asked for his friendship.

Friendship is the food that feeds our souls. The Divine Spirit that Jesus embodied in the flesh is still with us and in us, and is meant to grow as we share it with others. We are all called to be exemplars of The Divine in our earthly forms. Our challenge is to stay open to all others while remaining true to our own spark of The Divine.