I am

I teach about injustice.
I teach about inequality.
I teach about oppression.
I teach about injustice.
I teach about my role
as an activist,
but I also teach about
how I contribute to the
system of inequality.

It is one thing for me to
speak out and do what I can
to fight,
to resist,
to dismantle,
to make this a better world.
However, I must also speak about
how I am part of the system,
passively or actively,
which contributes to the oppression.

I am
a resisister,
and I am
guilty.
I am
part of the problem and
I am
part of the solution.

I am
created by the great
I am
and in the image of
I am
I work to bring about change,
but I am
also part of the problem
I seek to change.

I am
created
by I am
to do the work of
I am
with all of who
I am.

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Caring for my Heart

Go to the gym
because your body needs
exercise.
Eat healthy.
All things in moderation.
These are a few of the things
I hear about caring for my body.

My heart needs more than
a cardio workout.
It needs love.
It needs to be touched,
caressed,
molded,
educated, and
refined.

It needs words,
actions,
feelings,
sounds,
images,
scents,
and ideas
which reach in and
caress my heart.

It comes to me through prayer,
meditation,
music.
art,
poetry,
and the whispers from above.

Sometimes it is the
creations of others
and sometimes it is the
conversations of my soul.
My poetry is
one way I speak
to my heart
and hopefully
to the hearts of others.

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No Promises

It’s been a rough few weeks.
It’s been filled with losses,
accidents, illnesses,
and other challenges.
I have so many friends who are going through
feeling weighed down with
grief, fear, concerns, and
the challenges of life.

Together we are going through
remembering that life
makes no promises.
There is no promise that
life will be easy
or simple.
We may wish there was, but
there are no promises.

So we lift each other up,
knowing we will make it through  
and remind each other
we have this.
We remind each other
to focus on the positive.
We focus on what we have
to be grateful for.
We help each other through
the good times and the bad
and we remind ourselves that
life makes no promises

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Held in Your Arms

There are days
when I just need
to be held.
When I want to be
a little gurl held
in my mother’s arms

Then I close my eyes,
wrap my arms around myself
and rock myself
until I feel myself being
held in your arms.

It brings me back in time
to those moments when
I was wrapped in the
arms of love and knew
all was going to be okay.

Now when I need to be held
I wrap my arms around myself
and rock myself like my mother did
until I am held by you
and rocked in your Divine love.

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Talk to Me

When I find myself drawn to something,
I have to stop and listen,
because it is trying to
talk to me.

Anything that is alive
has the power and ability
to share a wisdom, lesson, and
talk to me.

The cracks in the driveway
drew me in one day and
between the cracks I saw the beauty
they were revealing to me.

I watched the birds as
they went from branch to branch
grabbing what they needed
telling me you have what you need

I sat in the sun
feeling the warmth wash over me
covering me like a blanket
telling me I am loved

All that is alive
is speaking to us
bringing us lessons
talking to us,
we just need to listen

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Hospitality

I was reminded of a video
about a young boy and an older man
who created a space
to let each other in.

That is what hospitality is about.
its about taking people
into our worlds.
Its about letting them into
our hearts, mind, souls
and saying you are welcome.

Its about breaking down barriers,
tearing down walls,
overcoming obstacles.
its about building bridges which connect us,
not walls which separate us.
its about connecting people
and hearts
one at a time.

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The Last Day

So often we live
as if there is a tomorrow.
However, we are not promised
a tomorrow or even a minute from now.

I have almost died
so many times.
I almost died at birth
in a car accident when
I flew out of the car.
I almost died when both
my ureters were obstructed
and when my common bile duct
was obstructed
and before my sleep apnea
was diagnosed.

I remember when they thought
my son was going to die.
I remember my friends
who committed suicide.
I remember all the friends
and family members who have had
their last day

So now, I try to live as if
today is my last day.
I remember to tell
Zoe that I love her.
I remember to say thank you
to all those who love and support me.
I remember to be grateful
I woke up and made it through
another day.

I remember that today
may be my last day.
I remember  that nothing
is promised.
I remember I do not know
So I give thanks or just waking up
as this may be my last day.

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No More Mine

Mine.
It was a word I used
to say this is mine;
to belongs to me.

It was mine because
I bought it,
it was given to me.
I earned it,
or it some other way
came into possession.
It was mine.

I liked mine,
because it made me feel
as if I possessed,
I owned,
I had control, and
I had power.

So what if stopped saying mine
if I started seeing everything
as being borrowed,
as a gift from the Ultimate,
as a blessing which was with me
for a time,
for a season
but not mine.

Legally something may be
mine,
however, if everything I have
is from the Divine,
then it is not mine.
It is a blessing,
a reminder all my needs
are met.

Things may come and go,
they may break,
they may be stolen,
they may be regifted
but they are not mine.
They are things in my life
for a reason and
a season,
but they are not mine.

Removing the word mine
from my vocabulary
changes my perspective.
It recognizes my blessings
changes my connections,
and opens my eyes,
to the presence of God
in my life.

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New Day

It’s a new day.
I got to wake up
one more time.
I have another chance
to be of service
I have another day
to witness
the love and wisdom
of the Ultimate

It’s a new day.
Everything is new
My cells are new
The air I breathe is new
The water which cleanses me
is new.
They are gifts of a
new day.

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Mending

I have to begin by owning my mistakes.
I cannot mend,
what I cannot own.
I cannot fix,
what I do not admit I damaged.

Mending the world
begins with me.
If I am living at peace in my soul
then my home is
When my relationship is joyous,
we share that with the world
When we share our joy
we make our community better,
which makes our region better,
which makes our state better
which makes our country better
which makes the world better.

My being mindful about mending
that which I need to mend
is about me making this world a better place.
it is about me helping to mend
the world.

What if each day we fixed our mistakes
before we went to bed.
What if we fixed things
as they happened,
instead of letting them build.
What if we focused on
mending
our lives,
and the world

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Before Speaking

Is it truthful?
Is it necessary?
Is it kind?
Rumi asked

If I were to honestly answer
these three questions
I would rarely communicate
with others, especially
those with whom I disagree.

While I am good at listening
to others with the grace of God,
I question whether I speak
when I should be silent.
Do I take the time to speak
my truth in a way that is loving?
What makes it necessary
Whose truth?
What is kind?

If I had to physically move
through three gates before speaking
would I have the energy to speak.
Perhaps I should consider how important
it is for me to speak my truth
and if so wait until I can speak them
kindly and with love.
Until then I will sit in
the grace of the Ultimate
and be silent.

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Silence

I sit here and
there is nothing but noise.
The sounds of the house,
the computer,
the music Zoe is listening to,
and the radio playing in my head.

It is hard to hear
the messages of the Divine
when my head is filled with nothing
but noise.

So I find a space
where I can sit and turn off the noise
outside my body and inside my head.

It is in that space
where I hear a symphony
in the silence
where I can contemplate
the questions of my heart
and hear the messages
that come from deep within.

When I sit in this space of silence
I invite that which dwells within me,
to surface
and to offer me that which
I can only hear in
the silence.

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Spiritual Bumps

Sometimes we hit a
spiritual bump in our life.
That thing that jars us
and makes us think.
The moment that we come
off of autocruise and
call on our spiritual practices
to do more then get through it,
but to understand the meaning
to the spiritual bump.

This morning I woke up in tears,
grieving losses
which happened years ago.
It was through prayer and processing,
which I came to realize I had not
taken the time to grieve.
The message which triggered this
was not about me
but what was about me
was the grief it triggered.

The grief over my isolation.
The grief over the loss of
who I thought were friends.
The grief over things I thought I had grieved,
only to discover I had not.

Sometimes we need those spiritual bumps
to come to us in our dreams,
in our lives, and
in our visions
to give us deeper meaning
into our lives
and the purpose behind them

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Smiling

Do you always smile?
my student asked.
No, but what makes me
smile is when I find that
what I am looking for
is already in me.

It is like Dorothy wanting to go home.
She already had the power.
She already had what she needed
to go home
I have to laugh
at myself
when I realize that
I already knew
what I was searching to learn.

What if I started by looking inside
instead of outside
listening to the wisdom in me
instead of looking for the wisdom
externally?
What if I journeyed within
connected to my internal Spirit
and never had to leave home
to find what I already had?

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Being Mindful

You left the light on.
The water is still dripping.
Are you going to throw that away?
How often do we forget
to be mindful
about our environment
and our resources.

I am one who gets distracted
and forgets to shut the light off
I leave the water running
from time to time.
I do not always treat the environment
with kindness, dignity, and respect.

Being mindful means
I have to be present
when eating and
experience the aroma,
textures,
appearance
and taste
of my food.
It means I am mindful
of my utilities and when
and why I am using them
it means I honor that which
is in my home and
regift it when I no longer
appreciate its value

Being mindful brings me
closer to a place of that
amazing peace,
because I am seeing and
honoring the Divine in all.

Because of this,
I am going to work on
being mindful
and honoring all.

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Forgiveness

An eye for an eye,
A tooth for a tooth,
This is how so many of us are taught
What it teaches us
is to be unforgiving and violent

What if we learned new lesson.
What if we learned to radiate love
in all situations
to all people
and most importantly
to ourselves

What if we remembered that
forgiveness is a gift
to you and to me.
Forgiveness sets us both free.

Forgiveness is not forgetting,
it is just releasing us both
from the pain of hatred
and violence

So today, I begin by forgiving
myself,
others
and then I ask forgiveness
from others
and myself
This helps set the world free

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I am a poet

I started dreaming about
writing poetry again.
Then the critiques began
about my rhythm
topics,
and marketability.
Those messages are not of God.

God’s inspiration
Gave me eyes that could hear, and
ears that can see.
I learned to stay open.
I learned to watch life
I began listening to my heart
and soul
and the inspiration
which came to me.

As I opened my senses
my imagination flowed
with an uncertainty and
excitement I cannot explain.
what I do know is that
I am a poet.

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Goodness

Goodness, Thoreau said,
is the only investment that never fails.
What if goodness was a fund?
What if every act of goodness or kindness
was a deposit?
How wealthy am I?
What is my fund looking like?

When I think about goodness,
I am reminded of lyrics from a song
which cause me to ask if I have done any good today.
At the end of the day can I say
I cheered up those who needed some love and light.
Can I say I made someone find the
happiness within themselves again.
Can I say I helped someone
who needed a friendly hand.

These are the things which are
worthwhile investments
Random acts of kindness
Words which uplift
That which makes it on earth
As it is in heaven

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Dancing with God

Life is like a dance.
God is my partner.
God makes suggestions
and I respond
it is a conversation
between the two of us
which is all about us

God is skilled,
if I have faith
then I do not have to guess
I just have to follow.

God’s timing is perfect.
so I just have to follow,
without doubt,
without fear,
without the desire to
change the dance.

Dancing with God
is about trust.
It is about
releasing anticipation.
It is about moving with
and matching the movements.
it is about maintaining balance
in my relationship with God

It is about following the signals
which God is giving me.
It is also about knowing that
God never forces me to follow.
That choice is always up to me.

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The New Story

When I was a little girl
I worried about being liked.
I cared what people thought,
but not as much as I did
as I grew older.
I went through a phase where
I cared about first impressions,
others evaluations.
what they thought,
what they said, and
what they believed about me.
I thought others thought
more about me then they did.

Now I know others rarely think of me
and if they do,
is not as often I could imagine.
They may have an impression
or an evaluation.
They may tell me what they think,
but that is about them
and what they believe
and what their expectations are.
their story is about them,
not me.
What matters most,
is what I think of me and
that what I think of me
is positive, loving, and affirming.

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