Spiritual Sparks

The sun, the rain, even hurricanes are imbued with Spiritual sparks.
Though we may not understand the language, this is how The Spirit "talks."
If every day is a Spiritual gift, no matter what we have to face,
Will we not accept that death and destruction are a way to build new life?

Pain is not punishment or judgement on our actions;
It is simply a stress that can lead to universal growth.
Facing stress with fear locks up the positive power
That can help us feel one with earth's re-birth contractions.

If every day we live our lives as if it is our last day on earth,
Will we not focus on loving instead of on our animal fears?
When we allow The Spirit to guide all our thoughts and actions,
We know that this strength will take us even through our deaths.

The energy we receive in this life does not disappear at death;
In its transformation, it goes on to feed the universe .
The tiniest spark of goodness that you shared with another
Will live on in that person's Spirit, lighting a path to peace.

I am not prone to praying for the storms and pain to pass me by;
I am more prone to praying for strength to accept their affects.
My most useful prayer is in looking for the growth that will come,
Rising from the rubble of my own, my people's, and our planet's pain.

We must let go of earthly attachments in order to grow;
This is most difficult with our children, mates, and families.
It is not easy to say, "I'm ready to let you go or to die."
Given as a gift, not as a sign, of our own apathy.

Sacred Sundays

All week we do for the world at large;
On Sundays we do for each other
The challenges that we've faced alone,
We discuss and look for symmetry.

Often our conversation turns to morals;
We understand each others positions.
We have a shared biblical vocabulary,
But very different action plans.

We were both brought up submersed
In the same version of the same religion.
Our shared values seem to be a product
Of the religion in which we were raised.

He was Jesuit and Franciscan trained;
I, by Dominican Sisters to seek the truth.
And we both had St. Joseph Sisters
In our most formative early years.

It is true that our earliest indoctrination
Bears fruit throughout our full lives.
Could we ever have found peace together
Without the same early training for our souls?

We were children of The Church,
Born to mothers who only bore us
To help the popes continue to build
Their armies of "Soldiers of Christ."

We have both turned away from our religion
Because of the abuses of their power,
But we know that we would not be the same
Without the grounding in our shared faith.

The gratitude we feel for those
Who taught us our religion
Will never be forgotten,
Though our sorrow remains.

Often there have been others
Offering us their own religions,
But we will never be completely
Free from our past spiritual home.

Blessings and Being

Open your soul.

Feel The Spirit.

Breathe deeply.

Be.

Ask for forgiveness.

Grieve together.

Hug one another.

Be.

Sit together in silence.

Share making a meal.

Feed yourselves and each other.

Be.

Say, "I love you."

Hug one another.

Return to your world.

Do.

Lie down in your bed.

Relive the memories.

Thank The Spirit.

Sleep.

How Can "Christians" Continue to Hate?

How can "Christians" continue to hate in the name of God?
Is it because so much "conversion" is a fraud?
We proclaim our belief in a faith we don't understand
In order to follow, not Jesus, but another earthly plan.

We have bonding rituals that have nothing to do with caring;
Communion tables should be real meals with spiritual sharing.
Not the voice of one priest or prophet and mindless rituals
That leave neither our minds, souls, hearts or bellies full.


Hard hearts in the old law allowed for divorces,
And, presumably, for use of many deadly forces
But the new law seems to point to kinder men,
So the peace of Genesis will, one day, reign again.

Why are "Christian" men still posturing for earthly power
When the consequences seem to get worse by the hour?
What can be worse than possible nuclear annihilation?
Isn't it time to spread The Holy Spirit celebration?


It seems that by only men was the life and the word of the risen lord
Expected to be experienced, interpreted, followed, or even heard.
How do we expect that women and their children will find the way
When it has been so long since women of wisdom had a say?

There are rules to peaceful relationships that seem to be ignored
By the very men that the words of Jesus were apparently meant for.
Is the problem that it's easier to continue to look back
And find, in the old law, reasons, to others, attack?


Where are the compassionate cultural conversations
With the families who have cherished children in other nations?
If all the fighting we do happened in our own country,
Would we be more serious about keeping the peace?


How many more millenia will we repeat the same old stories,
Pretending the the reward from "God" is earthly glory?
The coming together of family around a shared meal
Is a place where we can, The Holy Spirit, share and feel.

But we must have the courage to set a loving tone
Look for answers, not hatred, in our sacred homes.
Listen to each other's challenges in continuing on a holy path;
This may be the only way a world of peace will reign at last.

Promoting a Slower Pace

There are times I think life was easier without good medical care;
I wonder if people then cherished each other and each day  more?
When we didn't think all ailments and pain could be corrected,
Did we make the most of each moment of our shared good times?

Children have to be super stars in order to compete;
It matters not how they break and bruise their bodies.
Patch them up and send them out; make others proud
When do we relax and bask in life's pure ecstasy?

It does seem that, as we age, life is lived in the "repair shop."
Too tired to make more memories,  it's good we have so many.
Even the anticipation of another medical miracle
Is too stressful to contemplate, much less to anticipate.


All the wisdom of the ages is now available on the internet,
And people don't need voices; they prefer to text.
There is no more need for eye-to-eye communication,
And the music of shared laughter is now derisive sneers.

Physical contact is now reduced to that of sex partners,
Or the too-soon tainted pure affection shared with a child.
I so miss the touch, sight,, sound and smell of family;
The pace of life leaves no need for kissing and making up.


I cannot even form memories at such a frantic pace
When do we take enough time to fully process a day?
We snap pictures, promising ourselves delayed joy,
But the action has usually gone by too fast for me.

I will now settle for seeing the lives of others
Play out in thier pictures for the world to see.
When I close my eyes I smell, hear, and feel them,
And can again imagine the way our family used to be.

I often think I cry because I can't hold any more emotion;
Life has been much too memorable for one person's poor soul.
All I really care to do anymore is to leisurely reminisce
About the days of innocence of myself and those I love. 

I am not particularly attached to another day of  production;
Lay me down and let me dream about how life used to be.
I still believed in the possibility of universal peace and love,
And, by some magic, I thought I'd die before my energy.

Love and Leadership

All humans are made as Chosen Ones,
But because we don't want to be fully human,
From the god spark in each other we turn away;
The innocent and the righteous then become easy prey.
It is so much easier to drag others down
Than it is to rise to the level of Holy Ground.
And it takes little to get a crowd to bond
By waving fear over them, like a magic wand.
Then the fear mongers set themselves up as our saviors
After taking us past the point where we can endure.

I suspect that most of us still believe in a god
Who, when pleased, gives us an earthly reward.
We believe that this god will vanquish our enemies,
Thus showing others how they, too, should be.
This has led to such abuse and misunderstanding;
Treating others with compassion is what my god is demanding.
But we blame the victims born to lesser circumstance,
And try to fix them instead of giving them a chance,
To find their inner strengths and build discipline,
By working beside them as their equals and friends.

Every person of every color is related to me,
But the differences are what we prefer to see.
It makes it easy to categorize people we don't know.
Learning from one another is the only way to grow.
But we're hypocrites who sanction immorality
By not looking at ourselves for what others see.
We claim privilege as the chosen ones,
And of the beliefs of others make great fun.
Where is the basic respect for the image of god
That is in each human who ever, on the earth, trod?

We can't love one another in a disciplined way
Until we learn to keep our own demons at bay.
If the enlightened ones continue to walk the right way,
Their light will keep others from wanting to stray
From the path of self-discipline and righteousness,
And will guide lost souls back when they regress.
Shouting from the rooftops all sacred scripture
Will not spread the word as well as those who endure
The passions of others and lend a hand,
To anyone suffering in the family human.

Anticipation and Afterglow

Anticipation and afterglow are the things that I miss most,
With the ever-busy agendas, running from coast to coast.
There are a few friends that I trust to have consideration
For my life's pace and my sense of moral obligation.
Most want me to catch them for moments on the run;
This has never been my idea of relationships or fun.
How can I know if I really want to be involved then

When I haven't been informed of, or part of, the plan?
Some say this is a need to control the agenda,
But it's really that I am my own primary defender.
One I enter another persons territory or plan
I give up some control of part of who I am.
I've never enjoyed seeing movies when I was by myself;

I don't enjoy parties for me, planned by someone else.
I enjoy the sharing of the build up to excitement,
And the talking about what we saw and where we went
That makes my life feel most settled and secure
When people want me to hurry, I'm rather demure.

I object to being bossed like a dog or a slave;
When I left my marriage I had to act brave.
It was all an act, I didn't want my children to see
The fear, or they would be as scared as me.
How was I to know that modern motherhood
Was a series of surprises, at which I'm not good?

How happy I was when they had children of their own,
And I could relax and enjoy them in my home.
But as their success became their driving force,
I couldn't continue on their ever-faster course.
It is now enough to hear their tales of victory;
Knowing they're responsible citizens is afterglow to me.