why Am I Happy

Why I am Happy

Why are you always so happy?
One of my students aske recently.
I am happy because I am so blessed.
I am thankful for everything I am given.
it doesn’t matter whether it is big or small,
whether it was easy to get through or not,
whether I asked for it or not.
if it came into my life, then I am grateful.
Being able to give thanks
in any situation,
makes me happy.
What about when we make your life challenging?
I give thanks for the challenges.
I give thanks for the questions.
I give thanks for the chance to grow and evolve.
It is not about the situation,
but about how I go through it.
If I can give thanks for it
If I can see the blessing in it,
then I am happy and I am at peace.

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Curiosity

Curiosity

Twinkle, twinkle little star,
how I wonder what you are.
When I was little
I wondered about so many things
like what the stars were
and so many other things.
Over time others tried to teach me
 not to question,
wonder,
or be curious.
Not doing so
however,
made me feel like something was missing.
Curiosity,
keeps one
in a love affair with life.
It is about looking
for the mystery’s in life.
Curiosity
is what keeps life exciting.
It is what makes me feel
like a runner in a race,
constantly wondering
where I should be and
how I can move up.
Curiosity reminds me of the one
time I tried climbing a mountain,
constantly looking for the next place
for my hands and feet.
Curiosity reminds me
that each day is about
wondering,
asking questions
and exploring the mysteries of life.

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Interdependence

Interdependence

Imagine how you see it -
interdependence.
Imagine how the tree is connected to the sky
and the earth and the worms and what grows on it
and who gathers it
and who sells it
and who purchases it
and who hold memories of it.
There is not a moment that goes by
that we cannot witness and become aware
of our interdependence.
My thoughts and words
are interdependent on my body,
my nerves,
my muscles,
my fingers,
my eyes and more to just
type the words on my keyboard
and my computer
which I am also interdependent on
to work for and with me to share
the meanderings of my soul
as well as the internet which
lets you see what I saw
and read what I typed
and prayerfully feel
what I was thinking.
Whether we realize it or not,
even this moment of sharing
is about our interdependence.

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Size Matters

Size Matters

Size matters.
It is so easy for me to overlook
a behavior or action because
it didn’t appear to be a big deal.
Positive or negative, size matters.
Those little tiny acts of kindness
may not seem like a big deal,
but over time they build
something greater then
they may appear on their own.
It may not seem like a big deal
when someone opens the door for me,
or smiles at me,
or in some way, shape or form
acknowledges my presence.
The size of those actions may not seem important,
but overall they create a positive flow of energy
which flows into and through my existence.
They help strengthen me
and motivate me
in good times and bad.
Conversely, people’s negativity
may seem inconsequential,
but it only takes one match to
contribute to a five alarm fire.
it just takes one unkind word
to ruin a reputation.
It just takes the faith of a mustard seed
to move mountains.
Trees grow from seeds.
Movements grow from a single action.
May we keep collecting the positives
and enjoying their cumulative effect.
Conversely, people can die from a little poison.
People lose limbs from a small wound,
Reputations can be ruined by a single sentence.
All sizes matter
because they all have an impact on the world.
May we be mindful of the smallest of negatives
and address them before their cumulative effect
creates harm.
Size matters,
so let’s pay attention to all of it,
tiny and large.

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Priorities

Priorities

For the longest time
my life was out of balance.
I made time for my relationships
but often times it was
while working
or because of work.
I postponed reading for me
because I spent so much time
reading for work.
Sometimes I even prayed
when I needed to.
But life is about priorities.
It is about making time for those I love,
not just when my work is over.
it is about reading for myself,
not just for work.
It is about praying each day,
to give thanks for what I have,
not just what I or others need.
It is about remembering
what is important in my life.
The things and people we value we make time for
because they are a priority

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I Like This

I Like This
What do you like?
How do you know what you like?
Do you only like what you want
or do you like what you get?
I never know what I will get.
I don’t know what the weather will be
or the students I will have
or the experiences life brings to me.
I may not get what I like,
but I can learn to like what I get.
I can learn to like all
I am blessed with
and find qualities in all
life has to offer
which enable me to say
I like this.

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hospitality

Hospitality

Recently someone told me
“You are so hospitable and kind.”
They wanted to know why.
I explained that one had nothing
to do with the other.
Hospitality is not about being kind.
For me, it is about building bridges.
it is about building connections with others,
those I know and those I do not.
It is about building connections with
those we feel comfortable with and those we do not.
Hospitality is about remembering
we are all one.
It is about practicing the beatitudes.
It is about living the Golden Rule.
It is about opening my heart and
surrendering my fear.
Hospitality is about releasing that which divides us
and embracing that which unites us.
It’s not about me being kind,
it's about me being humane.

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Dancing with the Darkness

Dancing with the Darkness

I wish I could say I have never been depressed,
faced the darkness in my life,
had to move through the storms,
or encountered any challenges in my life,
but I would be lying.
One thing I have learned in my journey,
is that the journey to the light
requires walking through the darkness.
The journey is not an either or,
but a both and
journey to the light
and peace
which surpasses understanding.
The journey there however,
is never easy
and filled with those moments
that break us,
tear things away from us,
challenge us to
overcome what lies before us
and move through it
over it,
and passed it.
It is never about the darkness,
but how we dance with it,
what we learn from it,
how we allow it to bless us,
and help us grow.
It is not just a dance with the darkness,
but preparation for the master class
with the light.

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Failing & Winning

Failing and Winning

“What did you fail at today?”
That was a question my father would ask me.
His goal was not to make me feel bad,
rather it was to encourage me to try.
Failure was never about the outcome.
It was about the effort.
I could not win without failing.
My Bubby,
his mother,
taught me a similar lesson.
She who fails to fail, fails to succeed.
I cannot win,
if I do not fail.
Failure has taught me to forget
what I thought it was
and embrace the beauty in it.
Sometimes even when I appear
to be failing,
I am in the process of winning.
I can fall,
but if I get back up
I am winning,
because I did not quit.
I tried.
As my father would say
winners never fail
they may lose,
but they also win.

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Being Open

Being Open

There are so many questions which guide
and encourage me these days.
Why not?
If not me, then who?
What do I have to lose?
Or the wisdom of my Bubby
She who fails to fail, fails to succeed.
Or my father’s question
how did you fail today?
Each in their own way encourages
me to be open to new opportunities,
new possibilities
and to rise above that which
I might normally reject.
I won’t ever know
if I do not try,
so I am opening myself
to the riches,
experiences
and opportunities
the world has to offer me.

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Contemporaries of My Soul

Contemporaries of My Soul

“Who are my contemporaries?”
Juan Gelman asked himself.
So often, for me
it is not the people I know
in the here and now.
There are a few
with whom I resonate in unexplainable ways.
More often, however,
it is people long gone,
people I have never met,
people who left me a wisdom
and a legacy which resonates with my sould
and makes me feel as if
we knew each other in a way
that transcends understanding.
It's poets like Lao Tzu,
Pat Parker,
Adrienne Rich, and
Audre Lorde.
It’s spiritual teachers like
Ram Dass,
Toltecs,
Thich Nhat Hanh
and Osho.
It’s the paintings of Jesus and Buddha
on Phoenix Island.
Cat Stevens singing about
The Peace Train
John Lennon
asking us to imagine,
Malala Yousafzai
fighting for women’s rights, and
Jhan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
who worked for peace and healing
There are my contemporaries
of the soul.
Who are yours?

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Loving the Leper Within

Loving the Leper Within

I remember reading a writing from
St Francis of Assisi who wrote about
“loving the leper within us.”
It took me a while to comprehend
I must do more then love what I like about myself,
I must love what I don’t like.
I must love the parts of me
I want to hide,
I am ashamed of,
I want to deny,
I want to ignore.
When I learn to love
the leper within myself,
then I learn to love
the ones others view as lepers
around me.
It allows me to show compassion to all.
It enables me to open my heart
and my table
to those who society has labeled the other,
the least of thee,
for those who have been excluded and
those who fear I will not embrace them.
When I learn to embrace all of me,
then I have learned how to
embrace all of you .

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My Personal Ukranian War

My Personal Ukranian War

For the last few weeks,
I have been watching the war
between the Ukranians and the Russians.
On the one hand,
I hate what I am seeing.
I cringe over the lack of respect
for human life,
I pray for the courage of those
fighting for their freedom and democracy.
I grieve at the destruction
and with those who have lost loved ones.
At the same time, I see myself in this war.
I see how in my own life,
I have to face my demons.
I have to face them with a vision for my future.
I have to remember to give thanks for what I have
and to daily work to maintain a humble heart.
I cannot run from the demons within me
because to try to avoid them,
simply challenges them to
make themselves even more present in my life.
 Like the Ukrainians,
I must tap into my own inner warrior,
pick up the gauntlet
and face my demons.
When I don’t, I am inviting them
to continue to haunt me,
torture me,
and reduce me.
I have to be the warrior of change
in my own life.
I am the one fighting daily
for my own freedom,
my own growth,
my own evolution.
This war with my demons
is not always pretty
or easy,
but it is about securing
my freedom
and peace

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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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