Celebrate Yourself

Celebrate Yourself

When you look in the mirror
what do you see?
Perhaps more importantly
what do you say?
Do you speak
affirmations to yourself
and tell yourself you are amazing just as you are.
Do you give yourself a high five
for something amazing you have done
in your life.
Do we do as Walt Whitman did
and say “I celebrate myself.”
What if we celebrated the beauty
in which we were created?
What if we celebrated our achievements,
no matter how tiny?
What if we found a reason each day to celebrate
our life, our experiences, and our friends.
What if we took a moment,
like now,
to celebrate something
amazing in our lives.
Just stop for a moment
and say
I celebrate myself.

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Memories of a Teacher

Memories of a Teacher

“Write about bridges.”
This was one of those powerful
life changing messages
given to me by the late
Rev Dr James Evans.
My heart still trembles
as I type his name.
He was the one who made me
fall in love with theology.
He told me to find myself
and my way of interpreting scripture
that built bridges.
He challenged me to read scripture
for the stories of bridge builders.
The people who were not one tribe or the other,
the people who told stories about building bridges, and
the people who knew about the vertical
and the horizontal beams of the cross.
He encouraged me to be a liberator,
one who both taught about how the perfect form of slavery
was not even realizing you were enslaved
and a liberator from those
invisible shackles which enslaved.
He taught me to own my Sophia
and created spaces for me,
a humble m.div student
to teach d. min students
in a course on activism and advocacy.
I know I am not the only one he liberated.
He did more than write about
black liberation theology,
he created keys
which unlocked so many of our gifts.
I know he unlocked many of mine.

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Grilled Cheese Grace

Grilled Cheese Grace

I am not sure I know anyone that
does not like grilled cheese sandwiches.
There is nothing like an ooey gooey grilled cheese sandwich.
Some people like a single slice of cheese
and others, like me, want more.
Regardless there is the buttery goodness
and the gooeyness of the cheese
and the warmth when it first comes off the stove.
As I was making some last night,
I realized that grilled cheese sandwiches
are like God’s grace.
Grace is like the butter being spread on the outside,
and sometimes the inside of the bread too.
It is like the cheese being piled on the sandwich.
Sometimes it is just that one slice of cheese,
other times it is this crazy mixture of toppings,
plopped between the slices of bread
with a sense of joy and engagement.
When it is done
the golden brown gooeyness
screams come taste me,
enjoy me,
and know you are loved.

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Storytelling

Storytelling

We are each storytellers,
whether we realize it or not.
Every day of our lives
is like a chapter in the book
we are writing for the world.
Our book, like our lives,
is filled with characters and themes.
We invite people to sit with us
around the fireplace of our heart,
as we share the love and wisdom
which lives within us.
We share cups of hot cocoa
and travel together in ways and to places
that only our imaginations can take us.
We are the writers of our own books
and the readers of the stories that others have
written us into.

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Finding Wisdom

Finding Wisdom

I remember when I was young
there would be these picture puzzles
where you had to find certain things.
A friend of mine still plays them,
but now on their computer,
where they look for hidden objects
and try to find them in a certain amount of time.
Isn’t that how many of life’s wisdoms come to us,
as objects hidden right in front of us,
waiting for us to discover it.
Wisdom rarely just walks up to us and says
here i am,
your wisdom for the day,
rather we receive it
in the most unexpected of ways
and places
and the most unexpected of people.

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Blessings

Blessings

Bless you
she said after I sneezed 17 times in a row.
It made me stop and think.
Not about why I sneezed so many times,
that is normal for me,
but about blessings.
About who we offer them to
and why
and what they mean.
I know what it feels like to be blessed,
but I started thinking about who I bless.
tonight I asked my friend’s cat be blessed
and that she be spared while her furbaby
needs grace and mercy.
I have asked that people’s lives be blessed.
I have asked for guidance
as I journey with people.
I have asked blessings on plants
and the people who grow them,
harvest them,
share them,
and help me receive them.
I know for some it is a ritual,
for others it is part of their prayer time,
for me it is part of my path
towards a deeper awakening
and awareness of all who surround me
and need someone to care.

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Have I

Have I ___

It was a song
have I done any ____,
and it gave me a whole list of things to consider.
It got me thinking about
how do I show compassion,
and kindness
and my devotion to serving others.
Have I done anything today
that touched anyone’s life,
helped them have an everyday win,
made them smile, or
made them feel loved.
Have I done anything to help others?
Have I
showed compassion,
devotion,
kindness? Have I helped anyone? Have I lold people when they did well?
Have I been present
and mindful
loving, considerate and kind
or remembered to say
you are loved.
Have I done anything today
to touch you and your life?

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Examining My Heart

Examining My Heart

There are some tests
my cardiologist cannot do.
Only I can pay attention to
the state of my heart.
My doctor can listen to my pulse,
my heartbeat,
and other physical functioning, but
it cannot tell me how open my heart
is to giving or receiving.
Only I know how it feels when I give unto others
or allow them to give unto me.
This is a heartbeat no one else can
examine or pay attention to but me.
Only I know what I am open to giving
and what I am not.
Only the Ultimate and I know
where my heart is closed to others,
where it is hardened,
and where it needs to experience
the loving massage of the one
whose love beats through me daily.
I would love to say my heart is in great condition,
but because I have examined it,
I know where it needs healing.
The Ultimate can perform
the healing my heart needs
so I may continue to grow
in my ability to give from my heart
and be open to receiving from others.
To maintain this, however,
I must continue to examine my heart.

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The Hands of God

The Hands of God

A friend of mine once told me that he wished he could see the presence of God in his life, like I do. Honestly, it is not something I work at. It just seems so visible. Like today. Yestrday I put an ad on Facebook Marketplace for 2 pieces of furniture we were just going to give away, but decided I would ask for a small amount of money to donate to Roc the Dogs Rescue, which my spiritual daughter operates. That is when the magic happened.

The two people taking the furniture are connected to me without my even knowing it. The first person has a daughter who was almost a student in my class.  She signed up once and then dropped. The second person was the one that has had me on a journey all day. I gave her the address so she could pick up the entertainment stand this week and she said I know that street, I used to live there. Not only did she live on the street, but she was the one we bought the house from 17 years ago. I mentioned it to my neighbor who mentioned another person, whose name I had seen but I did not know. This person was the sister in law of the person we bought the house from and she had bought it from her.

Now the story should end there, but it doesn’t. In talking with one of my neighbors who has long moved away, she said that before her was a couple she and her husband were very close to and had moved to Arizona. Before that was an elderly woman and her daughter who had moved to Vancouver.  In one day, I came to know everyone who has ever called our home theirs.

However, the journey does not end there. I found the couple in Arizona and am waiting to hear back from them and doubt that I will find the woman in Vancouver. I kept thinking that this is it, I am talking with my students about genealogy and I get to construct my home’s genealogy. Not the end.

Every family who has ever lived here has been of service.  This truly is God’s house. I am living on holy ground. I have to confirm about the elderly woman, but I heard she was a retired nurse. The man who moved to Arizona is a pastor, the two women who lived here before me are both in health care and we too are of service. That we found each other is a miracle in itself, but that we all have hearts of servants is yet another. How can I not see the hands of the Ultimate one in all of this.

WOW!  What an awesome day!

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Cradling

Cradling

I remember fondly
the day you let me hold your baby.
As I cradled them,
I remembered how it feels
when someone holds me.
There are times
I am like a spiritual infant
being cradled by the Ultimate.
I hear these quietly silent whispers
reminding me of my gifts and beauty,
telling me how strong I am,
even when I feel weak.
While I am cradled
I give thanks for
each moment I am able to
give to and receive from
the world.
At times, this feels as if
I am being
cradled in the water
and feel love flowing
in and through me.
All this happens
while the Ultimate
is cradling me
in a space defying description
and one I never want to leave.

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In the Light

In the Light

When you close your eyes and pray
what or who do you see?
Do you see situations
or people in need of support?
What if as you saw them
you envisioned yourself
wrapping them in a blanket
of the light of the Divine?
What if you saw yourself
praying with them?
Have you ever felt
as if someone is sending
you the love and light of
the Ultimate?
Have you ever considered
that just as you see others
when you close your eyes,
someone is seeing you
when they close theirs.
May we sit in this light and
hold each other in the light
of the Ultimate

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Art

Art

I had never thought of myself as an artist,
until I discovered that art is about fitting together.
it is about weaving various pieces together
each moment of our lives
We create moments,
experiences,
relationships,
lives,
realities
and so much more.
We are the artists of our lives.
As we create our lives,
we are weaving together
all we have been given,
offered,
and learned along the way.
We are the artists,
which means we have the ability
to repaint,
transform,
and recreate
the lives we are living.
If you think you cannot
add a creative element think again,
you always have the power to
create the life you want
just pick up a new tool,
learn a new technique
assume a beginner’s mind,
envision a different reality
and then get creative
and remember you are an artist.

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My We

My We

I remember the book
that changed my spiritual journey
God and the Excluded
It reminded me to constantly expand my we.
My we is about my sense of community.
It is about who has a spot in my circle and
at my table.
My we is about us as human beings,
both remembering and forgetting
 race, class, gender, ethnicity, national and even species.
My we is not about us and them,
but about we.
My we
is about who is and who is not in my circle
and about where I am in my own spiritual journey.
I am less concerned about what party you voted for,
what religious doctrine you believe in,
where you come from,
how much money you have or don’t have,
the color of one’s skin,
where one comes from
or anything else.
What makes you part of my we
is that we all agree to treat each other
with dignity and respect.
We work together to build a table
big enough for all of humanity.
This is my we,
tell me about yours.

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Time To Do It

Time To Do It

I love the lessons my students share with me.
Recently a former student told me,
We know how to be good students
we just don’t use what we know.
It’s like my wife said,
I know how to lose weight,
I’ve read all the books,
I just don’t do it.
How much different would our lives be
if we did what we know how to do.
Perhaps it is time to stop procrastinating
and start doing.

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To My Angel

To My Angel

You may not be identified as an angel,
but you are to me.
I remember the first time you flew into my life.
I was three, scared, hurting and confused,
and you came into my bedroom,
lifted me on to a cloud,
promised me it would be ok
and I would be safe there.
You returned and wrapped your trunk around me
bought me back to my bed
and tucked me in.
You always flew into my dreams
to help me when life got tough and
I was facing what seemed impossible.
You would always fly in
bring me to this cloud,  
assure me of my safety
and then leave.
what I learned was that you returned when
the obstacles had been removed
and the paths cleared.
You not only removed the obstacles,
but created new beginnings.
I remember the day I learned others knew you too.
It was when a friend sent me a picture of you
she was paining on her garage.
That was the day I learned your name.
Ganesha

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What a Ride

What a Ride

It was Gail Ricciuti
my favorite seminary professor,
who shared this Hunter S. Thompson quote
“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow what a ride!”
Can you say that?
Life is like a roller coaster
it is filled with ups and downs.
it is not about the ride
but the journey.
It is about learning from the downs
as they are what helps us get to and appreciate the ups.
If we are living our spiritual life to its fullest,
we experience our share of bumps and bruises.
Often it is in the losses,
the trials,
the challenges, and
the obstacles
that we learn how to
become an overcomer.
It is through the times others have said,
I am not sure how you survived that,
that I give thanks for the chance to learn
just how strong I am.
It is through the losses,
that I have learned
just how wealthy and blessed I am.
My journey,
and I am sure most of yours,
has not been easy.
Yet I hope you can join me
in celebrating and shouting
WOW! What a ride!!!

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The Ultimate Affair

The Ultimate Affair

My wife and I are both Geminis,
so we joke about how we are
having an affair with each other.
While we have been having this affair
for over 20 years now,
it has not been the ultimate affair
in my life.
That affair,
the ultimate one,
has been the one I have with
myself.
It is that time I spend with the parts of me
I am just meeting
and getting to know.
it is the parts of my soul
which have hidden themselves from me
and which I have hidden from others.
It is through our getting to know them
that I am slowly able to bring them
into the affair my wife and I have with each other.
I would like to say that one day this affair will end,
but my sense is that there will always be
a part of me that will make itself known
and I will continue to have this
ultimate affair
with myself.

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Claiming the Moment

Claiming the Moments

I listen to my friends who are mobile
and able to leave their homes freely.
They complain about waiting on trains, buses and rides.
They complain about standing in line.
They complain about being stuck in traffic.
After listening to them
I think about the opportunity to relax and pray
while I wait for my paratransit to arrive.
I think about the ways spirit can bless me while I sit in line.
I think about all the moments I have to claim the blessings.
I may rarely claim an entire day to experience sabbath,
but I claim the moments.
I claim the time I am waiting on the microwave.
I claim the time I am letting my computer restart.
I claim those moments when I am
waiting,
sitting,
and doing nothing
while I wait on something.
I claim those moments as Sabbath moments
to relax,
be with the Ultimate
and be blessed.

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Listening to the Garbage

Listening to the Garbage

How you see the least of thee
is how you see me.
I know it’s a slightly different version
then most have heard,
but this is one of my Bubby wisdoms.
She taught me to value the garbage
as much as I valued the groceries in my pantry.
Each she taught me has a message,
a piece of wisdom,
a lesson about life,
and a gift for me to carry forward.
Does it really belong in the garbage
or is there still potential in it.
As I watch chefs increasingly focusing
on reducing food costs
by using all of the plant
and not just the obvious parts
I remember this Bubby lesson.
I give thanks for the leaves
and the peels
and the nutrition and flavor
each brings to the plate.
I have come to think of the garbage
as offerings of gratitude
for all that contributed to my
sustenance and well-being.
How do you think about yours?

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Curtains to the World

Curtains to the World

It was years ago
as I gathered with a group of friends
from a diversity of cultures and ethnicities.
I remember how they each found something
in my space that spoke to them
and made them feel at home.
it was the paintings, drawings, gardens,
music, food, and symbols of life.
That day continues to remind me
that looking out is a curtain to the world,
but looking in to my home and life
is a curtain into all that I value and appreciate.
We all need to feel welcomed,
loved,
appreciated and
valued.
What am I doing to always create
a space that feels like home
not just for me,
but for humanity.

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