Women of The Word

If we are known by the company we keep, I should have a halo by now;
My daughter is her school's teacher of the year; I was her mother, somehow.
My daughter-in-law also earned that award; my son is her husband/partner
They are both so very deserving of any accolades they garner.

What can be more sacred than teaching a child to apply information?
We need more teachers this dedicated in our hysterical nation.
Until we learn to think through consequences before we react,
We will make no progress in society, without then sliding back.

I love to surround myself with people of great competence
This began when I was a child, and I've practiced it ever since.
My daddy said that I was a sponge; my mother said I was arrogant
I had to learn in secret, or away to another's home, I was soon sent.

This served the purpose of exposing me to even more
Knowledge of the kind that my mother's people abhorred.
Women were to be seen and submissive, but never heard;
This was according to our religion's teaching of The Word.

Teaching is a subversive act; education can be dangerous;
The world is changed when ideas are respectfully discussed.
Rote memorization and vomiting back random facts
Is the old method of learning; sacred teachers won't go back.

I am so blessed by the aura of these two fine women;
One I call daughter, but they are both good friends.
If it hadn't been for gifted teachers, I don't know where I'd be;
My Sacred Spirit was kept alive by women such as these.

Church of Good Cheer

I left my lover yesterday for a three week trip alone;
I have always told him wherever he is, that's my home.
We had breakfast together, as lovers often do;
He said, "Stop at the gas pump; I'll pump your gas for you."

The drive is long without him, but I had much to think through;
Planning Mountain Mama's history project gave me much to do.
I was so looking forward to my first stop to see my daughter;
Every time I wanted to take a break, I pushed myself a bit farther.

My girlfriend's home awaited me, as it always does so well.
She had to work late at the mansion, so into my warm bed I fell.
I thinking of how many homes to which I have the keys;
I'm actually never far from a feeling of welcoming family.

The Sacred Spirit comes to me in so many faces and voices;
I have never been one to walk away from any of my choices.
Some insist that church is a building and a certain creed;
I say that my church is where we help fill each others' needs.

Strangely Silent Seagulls

Strangely silent seagulls soar on the wild wind,
Stop-action as they surrender to the air's pull.
Waves crash beneath, have no current appeal;
Is this a meditative moment for a gull?

Usually so seeking, greedy, screeching;
It isn't often that, in the air, they are calm.
Does it take a wild wind to comfort some,
So they don't have to sing their own song?

Crazy clanking of the riggings, huge wind chimes,
As clouds scud densely across the sky.
The seagull song could probably compete,
But they are probably asking themselves why.

Today is a day for them to simply relax,
And the whipping wind will take them away.
For a short time, they seem content
To have no fights and nothing to say.

Those who aren't ever exposed to nature
Can't feel the earth's sacred rhythms.
They are always anxious and hurried
Over the making of their next decisions.

Humans supposedly have superior brains;
I like to believe this is actually true.
But it seems that even a bird brain
Can teach we humans a thing or two.

In Love and The Sacred Spirit

Yesterday, Gayle wrote in her blog OneBirdWatching.blogspot.com "God wants to reveal Himself to each one of us; He wants direct, Spirit-to-spirit communication with us.  He wants the kind of energy-exchange that most of us will truly experience only when we fall deeply and sincerely in love for the first time.  He wants openness, not fear.  He wants us to be able to open our hearts fully to Him, as lovers exchange freely and fully all that is in them without fear --- and He wants us to be able to hear fully and freely what He has to say to us."

I am so fortunate to have finally found that love experience about which she speaks. I believe that many people actually experience it for the first time in their relationships with their parents. I've often admitted openly that I'm absolutely "in love" with my children and grandchildren. Our relationships, as does my relationship with my mate, only work when we are vulnerable to each other, emotionally naked, if you will.

The great sin of religions, in my opinion, has been inflicting of shame and fear where nakedness had been. You can argue that Adam and Eve started it, but religions have continued this method of mind control. As a child, I was in awe of my parents and grandparents, and I didn't have to be made afraid to strive to please them. If they were open with me about their emotions, I  made every attempt to make them happy with me.

The Roman church taught fear of God instead of awe and bonding with The Sacred Spirit. They taught that an angry God sends us to damnation forever if we don't sacrifice enough to Him. They even taught that God created a sacrificial son in order to feed His own need to punish sin. They took it upon themselves to take away the bread and wine that they declared was Jesus' body and blood as a punishment for our transgressions.

I made up my mind a long time ago that I would not be manipulated by fear. The gut-wrenching grief that I feel when I'm rejected because of this may appear as anger to some, but when the soul breaks open again and again it causes unimaginable agony. The labor pains of rebirth of oneself and one's relationships can be as painful for both communicants as the physical birthing process of our children.

Thankfully, The Sacred Spirit has continued coming my way through so many people that I have never been able to completely despair.

Gratitude for Good Mornings

Wake up everyday, and focus our minds on the beautiful,
And throughout the day, take breaks to reclaim the joyful.
I am blessed that my lover wakes up smiling with gratitude;
His morning words and touch help to set my daily mood.

As you open your eyes, celebrate that you're still breathing;
If you're in a bed, that's a blessing you're receiving.
You may think you worked hard and deserve your bed;
What about those defending our country who may soon be dead?

Do you have a job? Be grateful for that gift to you;
There are many who have skills and no work to go to.
Be happy for today, that you don't have any cancer
Look for gratitude, and your Sacred Spirit will answer.

Can you afford food for your table and gas for your car?
Be grateful for the skills that make you who you are.
Do you have at least one person who cares if you live or die?
Every day be grateful for this; don't let an opportunity go by.

There is always something more for which we can grasp,
But gratitude for what we have is such an easy task.
Why do we waste so much energy in fear and anger?
It continues to put the Universal Sacred Spirit in danger.

Even righteous anger should be used to fuel good acts;
When we simply churn with it, it is our own souls it attacks.
Do not let the anger and fear of others enter your head;
It will only turn your days into missions that you dread.

I am more than happy to be asked to help with solutions,
But mindless complaining leads to my spirit's dissolution.
And if nobody needs my help today, I will continue to study,
So that if I'm needed again, I'll be even more ready.

It is true that my gratitude swells to where it brings tears;
This is something that others have often come to fear.
We are so used to adulthood being seen as sacrifice,
About joy and gratitude, we often don't think twice.

Good morning, roof over my head and air that I breathe;
Good morning, Sacred Spirit that shields me from greed.
Good morning, sacred earth that nourishes my food;
Good morning, ability to choose to focus on the good.

Good morning, my children who are such a joy to me;
Good morning, my grateful mate and the love that I see;
Good morning, my wonderful friends, near and far;
Good morning, all the differences that make us who we are.

What a Wonderful World

So, on my way to do my good deeds, I got all emotional thinking of my brave little friend Queenie with the huge personality taking care of her son and husband, each over two hundred pounds and over six feet tall, when she herself should have been in bed. I was rushing to the post office between grocery shopping for her and making the delivery to her house, to get king cakes in the Saturday mail to my granddaughter and daughter in Atlanta. I got there just as the post office locked it's doors, but that was the least of my worries.

I had packages in my hands, so I stuck my credit card in my pocket to avoid having to carry a purse. As is my habit, I turned off the engine and dropped the keys into said purse while extracting my credit card from my wallet. You know that sinking feeling you have just as you hear the car door shut and you realize you've locked yourself out. Per my reasonable husband's suggestion, I carry a spare key...in my wallet, which was in my purse... in my van.

Not to worry, we have Triple A insurance. Oh, but wait, my cell phone was also in my purse, locked in my van. Even if I could find a pay phone, I had no quarters because they would also be in my wallet, in my purse, which was locked in my van. Oh dear, what to do?

Across from the post office is a wonderful little breakfast and lunch place that we frequent on Sacred Sundays. I asked at the desk if I could use their phone. With no hesitation, the darling little gal at the desk handed me the house phone. Realizing that I had no phone number for Triple A, I asked for a phone book. It was rather amusing, the look she gave me, as if I was asking for a dinosaur burger. After a bit of fumbling, she produced a local directory.

I reached Triple A, but they could find no record of our membership on their computer. I, of course, didn't have our membership number because the card was in my wallet, in my purse, in my van, which was locked. The dear roadside service lady on the phone empathized and went so far as to call Tennessee Triple A to see if they had a record of our membership. Lord love a duck, they had never heard of us. Twenty minutes into this, on the restaurant's business line, I was still stuck.

After assurances from Triple A that we could be reimbursed if they had declined us by mistake, I called Pop-A-Lock. As I sat on the restaurant front porch waiting to be rescued, two waitresses came out to commiserate with me in my misery. One confessed that she had done the same thing just days before, but that, thanks to her daddy, she and her sister had Triple A insurance. She remembered that Triple A had given her a coupon for a discount on Pop-a-Lock, which she ran to her car and retrieved and gave to me.

The young man from Pop-a-Lock was covered in body art, probably to cover his freckles, with one of those half inch plastic rings in his ear. We discussed his piercing as he retrieved his equipment from his trunk. In the trunk, was also a baby stroller which led to discussion of his eighteen month old and thirty-five day old children. He was so pleasant that I felt compelled to give him a ten dollar tip, as a baby present. What a wonderful world we live in when we all realize that we're all in this together.

This morning Richard and I ate at Sunrise on Second simply to have the opportunity to thank the staff for their random acts of kindness.

Children's Church

I took my son to church on Sunday;
Nobody asked what he had to say.
They all told him to be quite and sit down,
Not to behave like a class clown.

He is a child of exuberance;
Going to church became a penance.
The joy simply wiggled out of his pores,
The childlike joy The Sacred Spirit adores.

The rest of the week, we had responsibilities;
On Sundays we could let our love run free.
He had been forced to sit and listen all week;
On Sunday's, my soul, his joy did seek

Heaven was in my children's eyes,
And for this, they were often despised.
As parents we were to act as martyrs,
Or we'd spoil our sons and daughters.

I gave up on church for my family
In order to allow my son to continue to be
When there's a church where the children preach,
I may want to hear what they have to teach.

Until then, I prefer my children's families;
In their love, The Sacred Spirit is what I see.
The Sacred Spirit creates church in one's home;
Wherever compassion is, we are never alone.