Letting Go

Letting Go

I remember one of my professors
selling his boat,
which he loved passionately.
He explained he spent
so much time and money
maintaining it,
he had no time to enjoy it.
It saddened me, but also made me glad.
I would rather he spend his time enjoying,
than working.
How often in our own lives
do we spend so much time working
that we miss out on that
which we love most in life -
the people,
the places,
and the hobbies
which bring us the most joy.
What do we need to release
to restore in us that
goodness and peace.

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Loving & Serving

Loving & Serving

The thing which brings me the greatest joy
is serving others.
One of the lessons I learned early on
is to love everyone,
serve everyone
and remember God is in everyone.
When I love others,
I am loving God.
When I serve others,
I am serving God.
When I remember God,
I am remembering to look for
God in everyone.
Serving and loving others
is not always easy.
I have to do so knowing
there may be no reciprocity.
I have to do so knowing
whether others love me or not,
I am loving the God in them.
Whether others serve me or not,
I am serving the God in them.
Serving and loving everyone
it is not about them,
it is about my willingness
to love and serve the Ultimate.
It is about loving and serving
the one whose love for me
is unconditional and
loves and serves me
even in the moments
I am not.

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Mercy

Mercy

As I look back,
I find myself giving thanks
for the people in my life
who have been like
heat sinking missiles
landing on and exploding
my most sensitive of areas.
Their presence has saved
me time and money in therapy,
as they have drawn my attention
to the areas
in need of the most healing.
I show them mercy
as I know others have shown me
when I have been
the heat sinking missile
in their life.
it is not that I want
these experiences in my life,
but that I need them.
They are the impetus for my growth,
my humility,
my reminder to be merciful
and to receive the mercy of others.

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Unique & Precious

Unique and Precious

There is not,
never has been
and never will be
anyone like
who we are.
We are unique and precious
just as we are.
I wish I could remember who said that to me
but it has stuck with me for decades.
It reminds me to look for the uniqueness
in everyone I encounter.
I try to remember
I too am unique.
As I used to preach
I am Divine by design
because I was
designed by the Divine.
The same is true
for each of you.
We are all
Divine originals
unique and precious
just as we are.

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Look Deeper

Look Deeper

I am always grateful to my ancestors,
and the wisdom they left me.
My Bubby and my mother,
both taught me about love.
There was one thing
both taught me to not say.
I hate you.
Those words,
they would say
are not of love.
Hate is not of love.
I could hate the action,
the behavior,
but not the person.
I think about that lesson today
with the political,
social,
civic,
and economic unrest.
I can hear them reminding
me that even those
contributing to the unrest
are of the Ultimate.
In the midst of the unrest,
I radiate love to all,
including those whose actions
I disdain.
However, rather then say I hate them,
I hold on to the wisdom
of my ancestors
and look deeper for the fragment
of the One who
created them as well.

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Peace

Peace

It is amazing what happens
when you are able to
bring peace into your life
and stay in the peace.
There is a magic which seems to happen
when we rest in our own peace.
We encounter people, places, and things
which are led to us,
but only because they too
are at peace.
So we meet people who
were led to touch and inspire us.
We are able to see things
in ways that move beyond
what they appear to be.
We get to see the mystery,
the magic,
and the secrets unlock before us.
Each person, place and thing
reveals itself for more than it appears to be.
In the midst of this peace,
we see glimpses of the Ultimate
in all we encounter.

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Silence

Silence

Silence,
it is one of the nouns
I give my students
to describe me.
Silence
is what I was taught to do
if I didn’t have anything nice to say.
Silence
is what I was taught to practice
if what I wanted to say was not
truthful,
necessary, or
kind.
Silence
in my own mind and soul
is what enables me to hear
the symphony of the Ultimate.
It is only in my self-silencing
that I hear the pins drop
and the guidance for my life and journey.
Silence
is not about not having anything to say,
but being mindful of the words I speak
when I break my silence.

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Alarms

Alarms

Alarms go off on our clocks, phones
and all kinds of devices
to remind us it is time to do something.
like get up, leave, or go to a meeting.
Alarms go off for so many human life things,
but what if we had an alarm reminding
us to pray.
this year I started a new habit of setting my alarm
to go off at lunch time
with the reminder to pray.
It is easy to remember to give thanks when we
are waking up
or going to sleep,
but why don’t we stop mid-day and
give thanks for getting us up and going
and moving through.
What if we set an alarm
to take a lunch break
and while giving thanks for our food,
we gave thanks for our day as well
What if our alarms
were not reminders of what we have to do
but reminders of what we get to do.
We get to wake up.
We get to go to work.
We get to give thanks.
We get to meet with others.
If we see alarms as a blessing,
then perhaps the next time
we hear an alarm,
we give thanks because it is
what we get to do.

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Overcomer

Overcomer

Have you ever had one of those moments
when your own words come back to heal you.
I just finished writing about how even the hard times
are a source of wisdom,
and then today I got to process
and move through more hard times.
Yet the timing was impeccable,
because before the hardest of the news came,
I was listening to a training on mindset.
The news was not easy,
and I am not thrilled with it,
but I kept focusing on my mindset
and giving thanks.
Thanks for the fact that I know what I have to do.
Thanks that I was given an answer to this prayer
months before I ever knew I would be praying it.
Thanks for the word mindset which
has been in so many things I have
heard or seen today.
Thanks for the lesson from my Bubby,
who told me when I can see
the good in a tough situation
then I will be ok.
So today I give thanks for my mindset and
for the intentional energy I am using
to stay positive and focused
and to offer up prayers of thanksgiving
and prayers for rejuvenation.
Tomorrow is a new day
and all will be well with my soul,
because my word for this year is
overcomer

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Do Unto Others

Do Unto Others

I can hear my mother’s voice now
as she continues to remind me
to do unto others,
as I would have them do unto me.
What does that look like and feel like in my life?
Do I cause harm to do others
when I do something that benefits myself?
If I had an opportunity for a better paying job,
do I not take it because someone else may need it more?
Do I accept the invite to host a party for someone,
because I would want them to do that for me? 
What if they don’t?
I come back to that teaching
and remember it is how I would want them to treat me,
now how they will.
I have to do what I know to be right,
whether others do or not.
I do not have control over the choices of others,
only myself,
This new year, as I write my last poem of this year,
may I remember to live and practice
the golden rule,
regardless of whether or not others do.

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Today

Today

I woke up this morning
and for that I give thanks.
As I think about those who did not,
it makes me ever more grateful
for the gift of the day.
I woke up
and so I am blessed.
From the moment I opened my eyes
and knew I was handed the gift
of yet another day
I knew I was blessed.
Everything after is a blessing.
Even if nothing else went well today,
I am alive.
I woke up
one more time.
I was given yet another day to be of service.
Today is another gift to me
from the Ultimate.
Today is a gift;
an opportunity to give thanks,
to be of service,
to appreciate all I have been given,
and to give thanks
because as I have been reminded,
not everyone received that gift today
and I did.
Today is a gift
and I plan to approach it and
appreciate it for what it is.

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Wealthy

Wealth

I used to think I wanted to be wealthy.
What I meant was that I wanted to have lots of money
and own things
Now, it’s not that I do not want to have wealth,
but that I know my wealth no longer comes
from what I own,
but what I have.
In some respects, I am struggling,
working three jobs to pay my bills.
At the same time, I am incredibly wealthy.
I am surrounded by people who love me unconditionally.
I have a roof over my head,
clothes on my back,
food in my pantry,
and doctors who always work to help me
stay healthy.
As I stop each day and count my blessings,
I am reminded of the riches
which fill my life
and how wealthy I truly am.
I may never be on some list
for the wealthiest people on earth,
but I have a wealth which comes
from the Ultimate
and I never have to worry about
losing.
I am grateful to be so wealthy and
to be on this journey with others
who are also wealthy.

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With You

With You

Each morning I take a moment to
reflect on that which bought me joy
the day before.
I think about the people,
the places,
the smells,
the tastes,
the textures,
the sound
and the feelings.
What I notice from my joy journal
is that much of my joy is
with you -
my friends,
my family,
my students,
my hosts and consultants,
my clients
and with the Ultimate.
What brings me joy is not
so much what I do,
but sharing that experience with others.
My enjoying something may start
as an individual experience,
but the full enjoyment comes
with sharing it
or experiencing it
with you.
So much of what I love about my life
comes from my time and memories
with you.

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Goodness

Goodness

There is good in everything and
when I can see the good
I can see the Ultimate.
So often we take things for granted
and do not see the good or the God.
Do you feel it i
n the warmth of your cup of hot cocoa on a cold day?
Do you taste it
in your coffee made just like you like it?
Do you see good in
the water which allowed for it to be brewed?
Do you smell it
in the fresh fall breeze?
Do you hear it
in the joyful expressions of others?
The goodness of the Divine surrounds us and
comes to us in ways we tend
to ignore or forget about.
May we begin to experience the goodness
in all the ways we experience it
and from all the sources and situations
from which the goodness flows.

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Brush & Canvas

Brush & Canvas

I love watching artists at work.
They appear to begin with a blank canvas
then with each stroke of the brush
they create a vision
which becomes visible
with each stroke
until it is done
and they have achieved
the work of art they set out to complete.
This is how I see
my relationship with the Ultimate.
I am the canvas
and my creator who stretched my canvas
and prepared it for painting,
begins the process of
bringing the journey and vision
had for me to life.
With each brush of the Ultimate’s stroke,
my journey becomes visible
and comes to life.
I am just the canvas,
what I become
and transform into
happens with each brush stroke.
this process will continue
until my journey here on earth
is complete.
I can only hope that, as a work in progress,
I touch the hearts and minds
of those with whom I interact.
Until I am on display in the gallery
of the Ultimate,
I will be open to evolving
with each stroke on my canvas.

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Wisdom

Wisdom

We all have those places
we go to seeking guidance and wisdom.
They may be a person, a place or a thing.
However, the world is filled with wisdom.
Sometimes we find it in
holy writings,
other times we find it in
the everyday
like the poetry or prose of others,
in emails,
in text messages
or during a meeting.
Other times we find it
in what we see,
like the waving of the branches,
the patterns of the birds,
the resiliency of the plants
and other teachings of the world.
Wisdom can come to us through
all of our senses,
it might come from the warmth of
a  cup of hot cocoa on a cold day
or the sound which lifts one’s spirit
or the feelings which arise when we gaze at a sunset
When we learn to look for the wisdom
in everyday moments
we will grow in our understanding
and appreciation
of the one who sent it to us in the first place.

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THIS IS ME

This Is Me

There has not and
never will be
anyone exactly like me.
I am grateful for who I am
and who I am becoming.
I am grateful for the way the Ultimate
has molded,
shaped,
guided, and
transformed me.
Without my spiritual director,
the Ultimate Conciousness,
I would not be able to accept
the award for being the
best me I can be.
I know we are not going through
this movie called life.
Each day, I need to remember
what an awesome job I am doing
at being the best me I can be.
I hope you accept the award for being
the best you that you can be

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Can't Touch This

Can’t Touch This

I am a big gurl.
In some respects this is important
because if I were a target
it would be easier to hurt me
then it would my thinner friends.
My physical size is one thing,
however, it is not my mental,
emotional,
or spiritual size.
My life has taught me
that while my physical size
may make me look easy to hurt,
my spiritual strength
makes it harder to hurt me.
Others aim at the physical size
but miss me
because they cannot see
my shield of not taking things personally,
my refusal to internalize the toxins of others
and my faith which keeps
others from hitting me
with even their best shot.
I don’t have to sing the words can’t touch this,
for people to learn that
there is a spirit that surrounds me
and keeps me safe.
Even when people
hit me with their best shot,
they can’t touch this.

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FROM THE ASHES

From the Ashes

Have you ever been through a challenging time in your life.
You know one of those times
when you felt like your life was
burning down around you
and you were surrounded by ashes.
Then, like the phoenix rising,
out of the ashes
emerges a blessing,
a gift that comes not from the best of times,
but from the worst of times.
I have been finding the embers of blessing,
in the midst of my own personal ashes
as I work to restore my health
and find strengths and gifts
I did not know I had
and the depth of friendships
that have wrapped me in love
and blankets of acceptance.
It is those gifts that I discover and receive
which bring me through the challenges,
the storms
and even the fires.

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Strangers

Strangers

Growing up, my mom would say
Don’t talk to strangers.
While I understand the lesson even now,
I have outgrown that lesson.
Now I embrace strangers.
I am a stranger to someone
and I am no stranger then anyone else.
I may be strange in my own ways,
but so are we all.
We all have those qualities that make us unique.
There is not nor ever has been
anyone exactly like us.
At one point my wife was a stranger,
my best friend was a stranger,
so many who are in my inner circle
were strangers.
Today I give thanks for the strangers that surround me.
They represent
the blessings that may enrich my life.
They are only strangers
until we say hello.

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