Opposites

Opposites

We are taught to think
we are either or
but what if we are
both/and.
What if like a bird
we need both wings to fly?
What if we are supposed to embrace
the masculine and feminine within us?
What if we are supposed to embrace
the light and the dark?
Do we even understand one,
without the other?
Being biracial, I am not
black or white
but me, black and white.
What if the universe created opposites
so we could learn from the other?
What if opposites were not meant to divide,
but unify?
What if opposites could help each other
see and build bridges, rather then walls.
What if we made room at the table for all,
instead of separating the thems from the thems.
What if opposites are not opposites
but just reflections of itself?

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Thank You

Thank You

What brings you joy?
One thing that brings me joy
is being of service.
There is something about being of service,
of helping others,
of making a difference in the world that
brings me joy.
So to all those who have allowed me to help them,
thank you.
Every time you allow me to help,
you bring me joy.
Every time you allow me to be of service,
you bring me joy.
Every time you allow me to make a difference,
you bring me joy.
Thank you.

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Compassionate Joy

Compassionate Joy

Today I had the chance to watch someone
experience joy.
It was the most humbling experience.
I was sharing in this amazing moment
and found myself feeling compassion for her
and what she was experiencing.
I had had moments like that as well,
but usually its by myself
or something I write about in my joy journal.
What if I began sharing my joy with those I love,
just like I share my struggles?
What if I talked about how much joy I had
in making my refried beans today
or my Mexican rice
or in reading posts from students
who pushed themselves academically
or in watching someone win and pick out their prize
or to see people sitting in the garden
experiencing peace.
What if we all shared our joy with each other
and allowed each other to experience
compassionate joy?

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I don't Know

I Don’t Know

There is nothing wrong with saying,
I don’t know.
There is so much I do not know.
I am not sure there is anything
I know everything about.
It's ok to say
I don’t know.
it gives us permission
to grow,
learn,
evolve and
encourage others to do the same
I don’t know
doesn’t mean I will never know.
It just means I do not know at this moment,
but I will go learn
and then I will share that information with you.
Then WE will know
and we will have grown together
That is one of the best parts of this life,
learning and growing and together going from
I don’t know
to we know.

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Present

Present

There have been a few places in my life
where I have just gone and sat
and done nothing but be present.
I had this oversized wooden rocking chair,
there was an old church space,
which rarely got used after they built the new one,
and there is my prayer and meditation garden.
I love to just sit there and be.
I would and still can sit for hours
and just be.
Why do you just sit there,
I was once asked. 
What are you thinking about?
All I could say is,
I just am.
I am present with the Ultimate and
the Ultimate is present with me
and we are present with each other.

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Enriching

Enriching

How is God enriching you now?
That was the question
someone asked me.
It has stopped me and made me question
how is God improving me right now.
How is God enriching me?
How is God making me of greater value
to myself, others, or the world.
With all the challenges I have faced today,
I know they have been filled with opportunities
for me to grow and evolve.
Today I am learning how to be strong
and advocate for myself.
I am learning how to farm,
as I have had to figure out what I need to do
and when so that all is in place
that needs to be.
I am learning how to be more forgiving
and love unconditionally,
even when others think things are more important
then our relationships.
I am learning to laugh and
surrender and not let life
steal my joy.
Maybe there is more,
but in the midst of this
rather frustrating day
this is how I feel myself
being enriched.

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Being A Conduit

Being A Conduit

Sometimes I want to believe
I am in control,
but I am not and
in all honesty I do not want to be.
When I am in control,
I limit my own existence.
I limit the opportunities the Universe
has to use me as a conduit for others.
Being a conduit
does not mean I am comfortable.
It means I am opening myself up
to opportunities to grow,
to be of service,
to expanding my world
and my understanding of it.
Being a conduit means not only does
energy flow through me to others,
but it allows the energy from others
to flow through me.
Each moment I have a choice/
I can close my borders
or open them and allow
the universe to flow through me
and to me.
I am grateful for the ongoing choice
to be a conduit.

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Dancing

Dancing

I may not be able to
dance like I once could,
but I dance in other ways.
Watching others dance reminds me
that dancing is about more then the moves.
it is about making your partner look good.
It is about being Fred to Ginger
and Ginger to Fred.
it is about understanding each other
and knowing how to show off their strengths
and minimize their weaknesses.
It is about practicing with each other,
learning with and from each other
It is about dancing with each other daily,
not just on special occasions
or when others are watching.
It is not about the physical movements,
but the way we dance with each other
emotionally,
mentally,
and spiritually.
It is not about the style
but about the skills that go into
the dance.

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Yak Yak Yak

Yak Yak Yak

Sometimes that is what
my brain is saying to itself.
Yak Yak Yak – absolutely nothing.
It is what happens when I allow
fear into my mind.
it starts creating stories
about stuff and tries to make itself
bigger and more important then it is.
Fear is nothing more then
false
evidence
appearing
real.
When the yakking starts,
I have to be intentional about stopping it
and turning my hearing towards truth.
I have to
face
everything
and
rise.
I have to rise above the yakking
and listen to the
wisdom and the truth
not the fear.

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Look at the View

Look at the View

These were the words of wisdom
from a homeless man
who said
“look at the view.”
He had nothing,
but he had everything.
He could see the world
and the beauty in it.
He saw the view
not just what was in front of him.
His philosophy taught me to see
not just what was in front of me,
but to pay attention to the world and
look at the view.

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The First Agreement

The First Agreement

I was talking about The First Agreement
with a friend.
it sounds simple -
Be impeccable with your words.
But your words come from your thoughts
which come from your beliefs
which come from your experiences.
My experience of someone
are not just about what they say
but their body language
and their facial gestures.
Then it hit me,
I not only need to
be impeccable with my words,
but with my body and my face.
My words may be sounding loving,
but what you are seeing may not.
If I am not impeccable with all of me
then I limit my ability to experience all of you
and your ability to experience all of me.
When we are impeccable with all of our communication,
we allow ourselves to see more of the
Divine in each other.
Perhaps the first agreement
should just be --
be impeccable.

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Designer Label

Designer Label

I remember it like it was yesterday.
It was a line from one of my first sermons.
I said, “We are divine by design,
because were designed by the divine.”
When I look at people,
I try to remember they are wearing
a designer original.
They too are divine by design
because they are designed by the divine.
I remember that
to remind me to treat others with reverence.
Cambodians lift people they rever up
so their heads are above theirs.
Others fold their hands together
and bow their heads in reverence.
Whatever your gesture,
practice something to show
that the Divine in you
sees the Divine in them.
For me, it is just seeing that
imaginary designer label.

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silence

Silence

Silence is one of my favorite
spiritual exercises.
You would think silence
would be easy to practice,
but it’s not.
It requires practice
to silence all the noise in my world
enough I can hear
the symphony of silence
in the universe.
The more I am able to silence
the world around me
and the noises in my head,
the more I am able to hear
the ways the universe
is speaking to me
and the symphony
which I can only hear
in my silence.

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Enough

Enough

I love window shopping.
It is an ongoing reminder
I have enough.
it is not that I do not see things I like,
I do,
but in all honesty,
I have enough.
If I need it,
then I get it,
but wanting is not needing
and with most things
I have enough.
Twice a year we go through
and share what we no longer need
with others,
because sometimes
we have more than enough.
I do not need
clothes I never wear
or things I never use
or books I no longer read.
Having what I need
is enough
and that is plenty.
Sharing what I no longer need
ensures others have enough too.

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Listen

Listen

I have long said that listening
is a sacred gift we give to each other.
We all want someone to listen to us.
When they really listen, we feel loved.
We can do the same for others
and truly listen.
It is more than people who are asking us to
listen.
If I just sit outside and
listen
I can hear the world speaking to me.
I listen to the words of the wind.
I hear the water touching the ground
whether it is rain or a riverbed.
I hear them in the sounds of the birds
I hear the music
I hear the messages of my ancestors
I just have to
Listen

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Thank You

Thank You

Every day I take the time to give thanks.
I write in my gratitude journal
about those things I am grateful for in my life.
I give thanks for people, places, things and
that which I cannot classify.
At times I give thanks for things I have been spared,
like situations, illnesses, and
other parts of life I never have to consider.
This morning I realized how easy it is for me to say
thank you
to those who think like me
or share my opinion.
However, I have to also say
thank you
to those who I do not agree with.
I cannot say
thank you
to one group and not the other.
Whether I agree with them or not,
we are all seeking a deeper understanding of truth
and in the process we both contribute,
willingly or not,
to each other’s search.
Today, whether we share opinions or not,
I just want to say
thank you.

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Savoring, Not Swallowing

Savoring, Not Swallowing

The last few weeks I have to admit,
I have not really been savoring anything
except for getting closer to the end of grading frenzy.
Even then I was not savoring it until the end,
until the last grade was submitted
and I knew I was done.
That moment of nothing more to dol
that I savored.
I swallowed up the papers to be graded,
the chores to be done,
the meals to be made,
all of it I had so much on my plate
that all I was doing was swallowing.
I didn’t realize how much I was
just swallowing
until now when I have so little on my plate
that I can savor.
I can savor what I am reading,
savor what I am learning
savor what the Ultimate is doing in each moment.
now I can just savor.
I am in a space where I can seek and not just do.
I can sit and fully experience the moment,
rather then rush off to the next things to do.
I may find myself with times I have to swallow,
but as I sit here and savor,
I realize I need to seek out more time
to savor and not swallow.

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A Fresh Perspective

A Fresh Perspective

There are those moments in my life,
when I look at a situation
and all I can see is what I am used to seeing.
Sometimes I need to have a fresh perspective.
Sometimes I need to forget what I think I know
and what I am used to seeing
and thinking
and feeling and
open myself up to it being the first time.
It is about having a beginner’s mindset
where I can see and understand things
that I could not comprehend before.
It was like when I was learning from Dr Riciutti
and she said when you are writing a sermon
forget all the ways you have heard it preached
and look for something new in the scripture.
It is especially in those moments
when I feel frustrated, hurt or angry
that I stop and wash the muck from my eyes
and work to find the beauty and the blessings
in all situations.
It is like a peacock,
one moment I do not see the beauty
and the next moment I do.
I have to look for the beauty
by always bringing a fresh perspective
into the experience

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Self caSelf care?re?

Self care?

Self care?
LOL me?
I am so much better at caring for others then myself.
My soul sister and wife
have been modeling for years
what self care looks like.
I am great at taking naps,
and making sure I am rested,
but doing things that bring me joy
has been hard,
especially since my paratransit disappeared.
Zoe tells me to buy what I want from the store,
make dishes I enjoy.
Eileen reminds me I deserve to do little things
like get my hair cut,
buy new clothes,
do things that bring me joy.
I am worthy of doing things that bring me joy,
of going places I want to go,
doing things I want to do,
re-exploring the world
now that I can leave my house again.
It is time for me to practice a different kind of self care.
the kind that involves friends,
pampering,
adventure,
and re-exploring the world.
this is why I am arranging
adventures with my soul sister
and my wife -
my two best friends/
This journey began a fewe months ago
with new socks, shoes,
and a new wardrobe.
Today it included things only I enjoy eating
like pickled tomatoes and half sour pickles,
ordering some vegan halva
taking a grading break
and rolling around the block
It may take me a moment to rediscover
what I enjoy
but what an awesome time of discovery
and self care.

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Four Rooms

Four Rooms

There are 7 rooms in our house,
but we spend most of or time in 3 or 4;
our bedroom, bathroom and office
and I spend time in our kitchen.
We were talking about this the other day and
how we need to air out all the rooms,
whether we use them or not
and so we are.
This conversation reminded me of an Indian proverb.
It taught that we are each a house of four rooms
a physical room,
a mental room,
an emotional room
and a spiritual room.
How many of these rooms do you spend time in.
Do you spend time in one of these rooms
or all four?
What if we were to spend time in all four each day,
even if it is just to air things out,
like a physical room?
This week I am spending more time in my physical room
as this has been the room I have spent the least time in.
I am still spending time in the other 3
but to help myself grow and evolve
I am remembering to value
all four rooms
and not just one.

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