Penance and the Promised Land

I'm so tired of competition for who is holier than thou;
What really matters in the scheme of salvation is what we're doing now.
We all have differing strengths and different temptations, too.
What may pull me farther from my path may not appeal to you.
Are we attempting to make amends for all the wrongs we've done?
Are are we being "reborn" as if our lives on earth had just begun?

I don't think it is for God that penance is necessary,
And the focus on pain being the purpose simply makes me weary.
Self-discipline in changing our ways can be a joyful task,
And its power in healing relationships is something in which we can bask.
How joyful I feel when someone has brought harm to me,
And then attempts to help heal these wounds in front of our community.

Some have a time of atonement for their sins against their god and others,
But how many of us have help in making peace with our sisters and brothers?
We are forced to put on righteous airs for fear of being fought;
Eternal shame, blame, and war is what this path has wrought.
Maybe one day all our earth will become the promised land,
But I don't think this can happen until we become our best humans.

Healing Family Feuds

In our search to make peace with the gods
We continue to sacrifice
The need to make peace with all creation,
And we continue to pay a dear price.

There is no place where we can
Seek solutions in our family feuds.
We allow strangers in our courts
To decide who and what is good.

This is not the way to solve
Problems with those we love,
So we medicate our consciences,
And sweep our problems under the rug.

We seem to have progressed no further
Than the ways of Cain and Abel,
Lying about our guilt
Instead of laying it on the table.

We could lay down our swords and sorrows,
Once confessions are given and accepted.
The restart button could be pushed,
Instead of living in continued rejection.

Being born again could include
As ceremony of re-entry
To communion with our fellow humans
Once our fear and anger are set free.

Many people sin in secret;
They don't let their truths come out,
But admitting our faults and starting over
Is what New Orleans is all about.

New Orleans is a city of great passion,
A city of celebration of The Spirit and sin.
We must simply be aware of these things
In choosing what we let come in.

We used to have a Catholic culture of
Saturday afternoon confessions,
Keeping the sins of yesterday
From becoming our obsessions.

Now, I'm not sure what people do
To slow themselves down and think.
Instead of examining their souls,
Perhaps they simply have a drink.

It is not so different than anywhere;
We all have bad things we have done.
But I sure miss the days when we had
A confessional to which we could run.

It's not that I think the way to
Absolution was well administered;
It was simply that it was cleansing
To have our failings heard.

What I wish they handed out for penances
Is the directive to make amends
With all those we had hurt that week,
Ourselves, our enemies, and our friends.

Perhaps we could add a codicil
That would offer extra absolution
To those who seek to cure cancer
And clean up the earth's pollution.

Extra penance would be needed for
Those who take from the poor,
Like those who profess to be the voices of God
While standing in greed's door.

Maybe we all need sinners' anonymous
Something like going to AA;
It would be a place where each of us sinners
Would have support to live by what we say.

Wouldn't it be nice if
Our churches would become
A place for laying down the burdens
From which we generally run?

They could be places where we
Pledge to seek reconciliation.
Not simply places where we go
Straight to the celebration.

We could replace our courtrooms
With centers for seeking peace,
Where members of our churches
Speak for those who are the least.

Instead of priests, we'd have mediators;
All confessions would be confidential.
But having dialog with both warring parties
Would be seen as essential.

Perhaps we could then get past the sins
Of the fathers being passed down to their sons.
We could begin to reclaim the harmony
In which humanity was begun.

Delight vs Might

When will man stop trying to define God?
All we had was the sun and the sod
On which to base our greatest visions
Until we discovered nuclear fission.

If all matter is energy, who can say
How that energy will evolve today?
It seems to me that we should now see
The Life Force is contained in you and me.

It is also in the air and the rain,
Which is re-created again and again.
I can see energy only its manifestations;
This is how I see God, as all of creation.

But we get in a hurry to make things right
As if any one people has the greatest insight.
Our greed and impatience to possess perfection
Is the proof of The Spirit's ultimate rejection.

We make a mistake by misunderstanding time;
Creation doesn't evolve on any one life line.
We had to become enlightened for the gods of our fathers
To be seen as The Spirit in ourselves, sons, and daughters.

If we throw open our hearts and minds in gratitude,
And enjoy the process, it may set the mood
For the infilling of The Spirit of Wisdom and Delight
Where we have emptied our desire for greatest might.

Angst and Elation

If we can't feel gratitude, what else is there in life?
Do we really want to focus on the pain and the strife?
We are given so many gifts through interaction with creation;
It seems to me that we all have daily reasons for elation.
But so many seem determined to point out the black clouds,
As if no silver linings are, in their worlds, allowed.
Is it because they are afraid to eagerly embrace
What the next sorrowful event in their lives may erase?
Do they live in the dark because the light hurts their eyes?
Do they prefer their familiar angst to joyful surprise?
Are they camouflaging their vulnerability so others won't attack?
Why can't they let down this guard with those who have their backs?
Do they trust no one to join them in rejoicing
Or is it a way to take no risks watching what others are voicing?
I am convinced that many of us live only one half of ourselves,
And seek companionship with those who allow us to keep our shells.
I prefer relationships which are about mutual admiration,
Not those that are a competition to achieve the highest station.

Lost and Found Love

One of the greatest gifts my daughter ever gave me is when she told me that, even though her father and I were divorced, she always knew that we both loved her. With all the doubt and guilt I assume most parents carry about their child rearing, to have an adult child proclaim that, through all the roller coaster rides of this thing we call life, she never lost the thread of love that extended over five hundred miles between me and her father's homes is a miracle, in my estimation.

Is there anything more valuable in a person's life than knowing that you are loved? Not pampered, but loved for who you really are, and helped to define who you are meant to become?

The enmity between he and I has long since been put to rest, but that's not to say that it doesn't rear it's ugly head when we least expect it. In times of extreme stress, why is it that our worst selves surface? Is the real purpose of our souls to keep shining a light into our darkest hours and guide us back out of the pits of our desperation?

Our grandchildren are now almost grown, and I like to believe that they all share in this feeling of well-being that apparently permeates my daughter's childhood memories. There is nothing more pleasurable to me than watching my children parent the next generation. I firmly believe that the faces we put on God are based on our own experience with our parents and other authority figures. As long as my children and grandchildren feel real love, I believe their spirits will soar and they will become the best they can be.

I pray that we can continue to keep the focus on the most precious gift of our short marriage: our children and their children, down through many generations.

Animal Instincts

I think it is important that we face the fact
That our ancestors were animals so we don't slide back.
Even though we became human, it's important in doing what's right
To temper our passions, or the strongest win every fight.
The animal kingdom, without humanity, is survival of the fittest,
But we have been given the capacity for compassion, bit-by-bit.

Our animal natures seek companionship of like creatures;
Compassion for others should be our most enlightened feature.
We must seek this Spirit for ourselves and for our young
Making the best of the human nature in which we should be strong.
The spark of The Spirit in each of us that we call the soul
Must purposely bond with others who help to make us whole.

Seeing The Spirit

When we limit the face of God to only what we see,
We take away the grace that should be allowed to flow free.
A person who has never known a loving father
Is not likely to, with God the Father, bother.
A person who had brothers who tortured him or her for fun
Is not apt to think that Jesus is a brother and God's son.
Those who feel The Spirit in the sun, the wind, and rain
Are more likely to, earth's sense of wholeness, reclaim.
Some of us have hearts to whom words mean a lot;
For others, words heard, are quickly forgot.

For them, scriptures with their mysteries must be acted out
By those who have absorbed the lessons they're about.
Working together toward a common goal is bonding to some,
And when the work is finished, a spirit of unity has begun.
To some a loving touch is their connection to heaven,
And the burdens of their lives, this will quickly leaven.
For others a smile, a shared laugh, or a twinkle in the eye
Gives them the courage to get up again and try.
Whatever helps us to create a world of our better selves
Should be honored as a place where The Spirit indwells.