Appreciation

You are old,
you are new,
it doesn’t matter
you are special
and I appreciate you

I appreciate the lamp on my desk,
the desk I work on
the notebooks which help train me,
the roof over my head,
the floors under my feet
I appreciate you.

I can walk and sit in any room of my home
and find things to appreciate
because life is full of things to
appreciate and be grateful for.

All that surrounds me is to be
appreciated.
I appreciate the things
I have borrowed from friends
and the things friends have borrowed from me
I appreciate the clothes on my back
the food in my kitchen
the dishes I get to share
and the dishes shared with me
all this is to be appreciated.

When we learn to appreciate everything
we see the Divine in everything
and soon we are living
a life of gratitude and appreciation

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My Yearning

I sit and close my eyes
and yearn for the depth,
the closeness,
the longing to know you
and know you as completely
as you know me.

It was you who gave me the capacity to love,
to speak,
to determine,
to dream,
to hope,
to create, and
to survive.

You know me
completely
just as I yearn
to know you
with the same depth
you know me
but I don’t.

I know I will again,
perhaps not until
I am with you again
but that day will come.

Until then, I allow you
to use me,
to mold me,
to help me
become a spiritual warrior,
constantly seeking
to know the me
you created me to be

So the yearning continues
and teaches me about myself
about you
and all the other me’s you
bring into my life
who teach me and deepen
my yearning for you .

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Staying Calm

He walked on water
because of his faith
and his calm.
He slept through the storm
because of his faith
and his calm

Staying calm
in the midst of the storm
helps us all
stay afloat.

Staying calm
helps others
to stay calm.

Staying calm
reduces my temptation
to create waves
and stir up the situation.

Today, I am staying calm
in the midst of the storms
and know that everything
will be ok.

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Visible Invisibility

She was sitting in the corner
and I never even saw her
until she coughed and
then I saw her and
noticed her beauty.

The last thing to discover water
would be a fish, Confucious said
because it is so pervasive
that it is invisible.

What keeps us from seeing
what we see
when we see it,
I ask my students

Our Higher Power is
ever present
but like the woman in the corner
or the fish in the bowl
remains unseen until
she clears her throat
or someone tries to remove us
from the water
or we are decentered
in our lives
and can see what we could not see
and hear what we could not hear

May we have senses that can be
aware of your presence without
you having to clear your throat
to get us to notice you

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Sacrament

Sacraments, they said, were an
outward and visible sign
of inward and spiritual grace.
they were a manifestation
of God’s love.
This was a sacrament.

But then I was making a sandwich
and I realized this too was a
sacrament.
it is physical and filled with God’s love.

When others prepare a meal for me
it is a sacrament,
God’s love is in their offering.
it is an outword sign of
my Higher Power’s promise
to never forsake me.

So the feast,
which is prepared with love
is a sacrament.
When I gather with friends tomorrow
the soup and sandwiches I prepare
with love
will be a sacrament of
the Divine’s love for each of us.
We will be partaking
of the sacrament
and of God’s grace.

Cooking for me will now
never be the same.
everything I make with love,
will remind me
I am doing more than breaking bread,
or sharing a meal,
I am experiencing and
sharing God’s love

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Honoring Creation

Twas the night before Christmas
and the story talks about all the
creations in the house.
All of creation has always been
a part of the story.

We are to honor the
animals,
all of creation,
that which we garden
that found in nature,
including all kinds of
plants.

We are to keep them
in our prayers,
to treat them with reverence,
to honor them,
to remember that they too
are creations of the Utmost one.
It is easy to honor those we value
and love.
It is easy to honor those who are
cute and cuddly,
those that are attractive and
whose beauty catches our eyes.

However, what about those like the snail,
the vole,
the weeds,
the creations of the Divine
we would like to forget
we are to care for and about

May we remember to
honor all of creation, and
pray that all of creation
Honor us

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Judge Not

Judge not,
lest ye be judged.
I have heard that
repeatedly
judged repeatedly
and been judged
repeatedly.

Judgement is not
about what we know,
but what don’t know.
Judgment is about
how apathetic we are.
Judgement is about
us writing stories
about other people’s lives,
when we do not know
what we do not know.

I own I do not
know enough to make,
nor should I make
judgments or judge others

I choose to have a soul
which practices empathy over apathy.
I choose to have a heart that embodies
grace and mercy
I choose to set aside my
fiction and be open
to knowing that I do not know.
May others practice not judging me
as I practice not judging others.

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Fasting

28 days
No complaining
I have done it before
I can do it
Again.

The fast begins
of not talking about
or whining about
something that is
not directly to
the source.

I have to remember
to go to the source
and speak my truth
in love.

I have to remember
it is ok to have a concern
but I have to speak
to the source
who has the power
to bring about a change
not those who do not

Ending this year,
starting the new one
by fasting from complaints

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Thank you Mr Mittens

Thank you Mr Mittens
For the lessons you teach me
and the role you play
in my spiritual journey.

You teach me to live in the moment.
You are ever present,
not time traveling to
the past or the future.
You remind me to be in this moment,
and live a simpler life.

You teach me to love myself just as I am
to be content with and love myself.
You never seem to worry how you look
or if your collar matches your fur
or if your belly has dropped.
You don’t even make a big deal,
if you do not like the can we opened.

You remind me not to judge.
It’s not that you are not discerning,
but it is about whether the objects
make you feel loved or fearful.
do you like the energy being emitted
or not.
You always love me just as I am.

You teach me to go with the flow,
to adapt to the situation.
You look at the blankets as they change
and go yup that will work.
As long as you feel safe, nourished,
and near Zoe or I,
you are at peace.

You remind us to love unconditionally.
You love us no matter what we put in the bowl
or the blanket on the bed.
you love us in good times and bad
for richer or poorer
in sickness and in health.
You have seen me in my best and my worst
and you love me unconditionally
You have these vows that
are unspoken but real

Thank you for being
a mentor and a teacher?
and one of my guides on my journey.

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I Am My Sanctuary

There have been moments
Where I have needed stillness.
Where I sought a sanctuary;
A space to retreat to and
sit with you and just be

Then you showed me how
to sit and be still
and journey within
to my inner sanctuary

You bought me
to a space within me
that is quiet,
still
peaceful
and where I hear you
with the greatest of clarity

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Honoring You

Today and all I days
I just have to honor you
for being the great I am

I do not understand you,
or the way you work,
never have and never will.
All I can do is honor you.

The miracles which I have
witnessed and experienced baffle me
They are beyond my understanding
and leave me speechless and baffled.
All I can do is honor you.

Sometimes I think I have a clue,
I think I have an insight,
but your ways are not my ways
and your understandings are not mine.
So all I can do is honor you
for being the great I am.

I wish I could explain, but I can’t.
I wish I had the words, but I don’t
What I can do is sit in the fullness
of the Mystery which is you
and honor you.

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Out of Exile

I remember the process
Of sending the parts of me
Away.
I sent them into exile
because I had internalized
the lies,
others had told me were truths.
It wasn’t all at once.
It was a process of
not seeing my beauty
not owning my intelligence
not appreciating all of
who God created me to be.

Then I recognized the lies.
I remembered the truth that
God loves me
just as I am.
I opened my arms
welcomed the pieces home
sought forgiveness
and embraced all of
who I am and who
I was created to be.

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Stay Full

I love how children
find such wonder in
opening a present
a new toy
or discovering the
mysteries of life

Then they grow up
and we teach them
how to lose that sense of
wonder,
creativity,
joy, or
mystery

We, as adults
need to stay full of
wonder,
joy, and mystery
so we can help our
children stay full
keep their sense of wonder,
joy,
and mystery.
Together, we can share
and rediscover the
world in which
we live.

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I Don’t Know

I used to think
I had to know it all
I had to have all the answers
I had to be perfect

Then I was introduced
to fairy tales and the power of
the magic word.
So I would wait for the
magic words to be revealed.
Then I realized
this was nonsense.
I didn’t need to have all the answers
I didn’t need to know it all
I have been given my own magic words

I don’t know
Those have become the magic words
whether someone is asking me about
Pampered Chef,
Inspiritual
or school.

I don’t know has provided me with
freedom from knowing it all;
giving me the freedom to
find the answers.
I have gone from having to know it all,
to just having to know where to find it.
I have learned there is wisdom

In my uncertainty.
there is freedom
in not having to know it all
What are your magic words?
Mine are I don’t know

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Miss You!

I saw this billboard
Made me think of us.
it said, “Remember how we'd talk every night at bedtime? I miss that. – God.”

Now I lay me down at night,
but do I remember to tell you
Goodnight.
to tell you about my day.
to talk about what I am grateful for.
to tell you about my challenges
to tell you how much I love you.

I wish I could say i do
but sometimes I am so tired
that I lay me down to sleep
and I forget to take the time,
to talk to you
and for that I am sorry.

If I can take the time each day
to message
tweet
text
email
and talk to others.
surely
I can take the time
to spend time with you
at night.

Because in all honesty,
I miss those too
and I always feel so much better
when I wake up.
Wanna have a morning chat
with me too?
Miss you. — Me

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My Compass

My longings, my yearnings
Are my compass,
They guide me,
Direct me, and
Lead me through life.

They make no promises,
The path is not always easy,
But it is mine.

It is that which I desire
It is that which I ask for,
When I allow God to order my steps.

It is when I keep walking
In faith
When I keep stepping forward
Towards that which I long for,
That which I yearn for,
That the path is revealed.

I listen to the yearnings
Which come from within,
Which bring me to where
I am supposed to be
To the place the Ultimate is calling me.

This is what directs me,
Leads me,
Guides me,
And brings me
To that place of yearning and desire
That place of intimacy
With the one who is my eternal compass.

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Letting Go

It’s like a tug of war.
I want to think I am in control,
But I know I am not.
Each time I attempt to control,
I make my world smaller.
So I let go
I remind myself I am not in charge
As I do,
As I open myself up,
My world expands.
I became part of that expansion
I become part of the present
I become a part of this web of connections
I become part of something
Amazing
Deep
Wonderful
Exciting
Unexplainable.

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