Learning from Death

There is not a day that goes by
that something in our lives does not die.
Sometimes it is people,
or our furbabies,
a situation,
a relationship,
or a belief.
We may like to believe
that life and death are separate,
but they are like partners
in a a dance.
Death touches our lives
sometimes it cuts us
like a knife.
Other times there is
a complexity of feelings
like a bottle of wine.
Sometimes, we are grateful to let go,
but at the same time,
we feel the pain
which comes with the death.
In all of it we know,
that what it was existed,
for a season,
a purpose,
and taught us
what we needed to learn
before it left us.
In the midst of it all,
it taught us about
the mysteries of life,
love,
learning,
and death.

Like an Angel

You’re an angel, 
he said, 
after I sat and listened
and really heard him.
We have probably all experienced
those who are like angels in our lives. 
They are the ones who 
hear us when nobody else can.
listen to us and share what 
we truly need to hear, 
or help us to see things
we could not see. 
They are the ones who 
just seem to show up 
out of nowhere and ?
minister to us in ways 
we cannot explain.
They are the human messengers
of the one who knows us
and what we need
when nobody else can 
and then hears and answers our prayer
only as they can.
They fill our lives 
with those who are
like angels in our lives.

Donate

My Legacy

it is what I inherited,
from those who came
before me.
I had no control,
nor did you of the legacy
we inherited.
We do, however,
have control
over the legacy
we leave behind.

We can think about
what we want them
to inherit
and put in place
a better legacy
than the one
we inherited.

We can envision
a legacy of dignity,
respect,
peace,
and institutionalized
respect for all humanity

We can leave behind
a new metoomovement
that is about those committed to
a legacy of unconditional love,
a legacy of celebrating uniqueness,
a legacy of positive alliances, and
a legacy of the tapestry of humanity

Donate

My Holy Ground

I am standing on holy ground.
I am mindful though that where
I am standing
is not where you are standing,
but it is where I am supposed to stand.
It is my holy ground.

What makes it holy
is not where I am. but
who guided and led me
to this space and time.
It is where I am supposed to be,
knowing that it is where I am
to be in my journey and
I am here with the one who
guides me,
leads me,
inspires me,
and journeys with me.
This is my holy ground

Donate

Walking with Me

I may not always see
the spirits of those
walking with me,
but I hear them
encouraging me to serve,
and to be of service to others.

I may not see them,
but I hear them
encouraging me to always
do what is right,
to be there for others,
to share my gifts,
and do what I can
to lighten someone’s load

I hear the voice
that says I am here and
in the hardest of times says
we will get through this together.
The voice that
reminds me none of us is alone
in the storm.
The voice that reminds me
to be the guide for others
as I am being guided.

The voice that says
no need to worry because
I am walking with you

Donate

Where is the Joy

Sometimes we work
so hard
we feel exhausted.

How many times
have I heard
or even said
I need a nap.

Sometimes we are so busy
we think we are tired
but perhaps we should be asking
where is the joy

Where is the time
in the midst of it all
that we stop and
do something which energizes us,
and brings us joy.

In the midst of
the busyness
may we remember
what brings us joy,
what energizes us
what makes us feel
as if we have napped.

Donate

Invisible

I have always been told
that I cannot see or understand
the way the Divine does.
My vision is not God’s and
God’s understandings are not mine.
So don’t try to think or see
like the Ultimate
because that is not you.

Before I try to think or see
like the Ultimate,
I need to learn to see and understand?
the parts of me which
are invisible to me.
I need to explore that
which I have not wanted to see
or understand
or explore.

I need to deal with the
invisibility within
before I attempt to deal
with the invisible of the Ultimate.
I need to work on removing
all that affects my own being
in this world and blurs,
distorts, or makes
invisible
my understanding of myself or others.

Donate

Sister Helen

Sometimes you hear
a lesson,
a piece of wisdom,
an understanding
which you know is true.
A truth, which pushes you
beyond where you want to go,
to where you need to go

Sister Helen Prejean
taught we are all more
than the single worst thing
we have ever done.

How can I judge others
by that thing,
if I don’t want
to be judged by mine?

Sister Helen taught
we all have something in us
which is a reflection of love.
It might be covered in darkness
and dust,
but it is there,
waiting for the moment,
the situation,
the person that will see
what others cannot,
sometimes even ourselves.

Donate

Failure

There is nothing wrong with
failure.
Failure means
I tried
I learned something
I am wiser
I am clearer about
what success looks like to me.

Failure means
I am alive.
I am participating,
I am engaging,
I am learning.
I am involved,
and I am helping to bring ab out change.

Failure means
I am an artist,
I am an activist,
I am persistent,
I have tenacity, and
I have not given up.

Failure means
I am working on
being the best me
I can be and
that is an awesome
journey to be on.

Donate

There is a reason

Ecclesiastes says,
To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under
the heaven:
In every event,
in every relationship,
in every situation
there is a meaning,
a lesson,
a gift,
which is there to teach us

When we fail to look
when we fail to question
and ask what is the meaning
we miss out on the opportunity
to learn,
to grow,
to evolve,
or to understand
the gift we are
experiencing

Even in this moment
in this poem,
there is a reason,
a lesson
the universe is trying
to teach you.
What is your lesson?

Donate

The Heart

At the end of the day
what is all come s down to
is my heart.
In times like these,
we see the condition
of each others hearts.
We see those at are
hardened,
soft,
closed,
open,
arrogant,
humbled
broken, and
healed.

This can be a time
when we contribute to the harming
or the healing
of our heart
and the hearts
of those around us.

May we take time
to radiate love,
light,
and positive energy
to our own hearts
and to the hearts of
those around us

May this be a time
for the healing and
gentle care of our hearts
and the hearts of
humanity.

May we hold each
others hearts in our
hands with the gentleness
and tenderness
we would a newborn

In our own way
we are each in a state
of being newborns.
May we honor
and celebrate the
newness emerging in us all

Donate

Blessings

So many are complaining
about the events of our life,
but what if instead we gave thanks
and saw this as a blessing.
What if we were grateful
for the blessings
which we are gaining
from this event.

What if saw all wisdom
as a blessing.
What if we saw all of life
as a blessing.
What if we saw both
health and the virus
as a blessing.

This season has offered
us the blessing of coming to know
ourselves and each other.
This season has offered
us the blessing of
a deeper understanding of life.

All of life
offers us blessings
of wisdom,
of understanding
and of love.
May we find the blessings
in all of life and
give thanks for the blessings

Donate

Meeting You

\It’s that season
where we plant
and then watch
for the blooms.
No two plants bloom
or grow in the same manner.
Neither do people.
We must meet each other
and allow each other
to bloom and grow
in our own ways.

We all go through times like this
in our own way.
For some it brings out the best,
for others the worst.
Some of us deal better
with the stress
than others
What is important
is that no matter the circumstance,
we meet each other
where we are
and support each other
along the journey.

Donate

The Least of Thee

In these days,
we find so many who
feel beaten down and
who feel pushed
to the edge.

There are those who
feel as if making it through
each day is like
walking a gangplank
and every action or inaction
feels personal.

There are those
for whom living
in quarantine
feels like they are
living in the borderlands.

There are those who
feel as if they are running
from a bomb which
will blow up their lives,
living in fear of being homeless,
hungry,
and without health care.

May we be mindful
that not all are coping
or have a social network
and someone is in
need of us to reach out
to those who have been
or are feeling like
the least of thee

Donate

Paradise

I remember a Rabbi once saying
Sit in Paradise when you read,
when you study Torah,
when you pray, and
anytime you seek to be
with God

Paradise has always been
hard for me to envision, to see,
to experience,
so it has felt as if there is a barrier
to being in the deepest state
with God

Paradise now
for me is not anything special, but
those everyday moments that
bring me to a place of peace,
joy, and
openness.

Paradise
is that feeling of being
wrapped in God’s loving arms
like a warm, cozy blanket.
It is the smell of freshly mowed grass.
It is the tastes,
touches,
sounds,
feelings, and
appearances,
which bring me to a space
of closeness and intimacy
with God

Donate

Goodness

If I look for the goodness
in you
and
you look for the good ness
in me, then we raise the
vibrational frequency
in the world
by focusing on goodness and love

Goodness
is about seeing the Divine
in each other.
It is about seeing the
reflection of ourselves
in others.

Goodness is about
knowing we can transform
the world one person,
st a time, because
we look for the presence
of the Divine
in all of humanity.

We teach others
by how we treat them.
We teach them to
see goodness in others
when we see the goodness
in them

May we teach each other
and transform this world
one person,
one community,
one city,
one state,
one country, and
one world at a time.

Donate

An Apple a Day

An apple a day, they say,
keeps the doctor away.
That is fine and great,
but what about the non medical struggles
An acquaintance of mine used to say,
a good heart
keeps away the farts.
Those people who smell
up your life

My gratitude journal
keeps me humble.
My inspiration journal
keeps me open.
My intention journal
keeps me focused.
My joy journal
keeps me balanced
My writing
keeps me growing

What are the apples
in your life?
Is your heart
keeping away the farts?
What do you practice
to keep you healthy?

Donate

Breaking the Spell

Donate

You have had the power
all the time, Belinda said to Dorothy
in the Wizard of Oz,
How many times in our lives
have we waited for someone
to tell us what we already know?
Why are we still waiting for someone
to ride into our lives and
break the curse
with some magic words.

What if we remembered
we were like Dorothy and
knew that we had the power
We have the words.
They may not always be the same,
but we have them.

We have
I do not know.
Grateful for the journey.
The best is yet to come.
I can make it through.
We all have magical words
that seem to break the spells of life.
What are yours?

Hold Up the World

What if we thought about prayer
as a building block,
as a foundation
which holds up the world?

What if the only reason
the world still exists is
because there are those who pray
and hold up the world with
their faith,
their belief,
and their prayers.

May we hold up the world
each day
by offering up our prayers
for ourselves,
for others,
for our communities
for our countries
and for the world

Donate

I Do Not Know

It is okay, I tell my students
to say I do not know.
There is nothing wrong
with saying I do not know.
Saying I do not know
opens us up to learning,
growing,
and receiving knowledge
from the Divine.

There are always things
at work,
at home,
at school
and with our friends
that we do not know.
We all know something
but none of us know everything.
When we say
we do not know,
we allow others to share
what they know with us.

There are also things
we may never know,
because it is not our time
or our season
or our lifetime time to know.
Our ways are not God’s ways
and our understandings are not God’s
So saying
I do not know
simple recognizes
our humanity
and that we are not
the Divine.
Today may we become comfortable
owning we do not know

Donate