July 15: Shelter

Shelter

My shelter is my faith in God!
My shelter comes from knowing my present limitations.
My shelter comes from envisioning my true possibilities.
My shelter is my protection.
My shelter allows me to store and organize.
My shelter gives me privacy.
My shelter is my space to own and be alone.
My shelter is a gathering place.
My shelter is shelter for friends when they need it.

Faith is a system of beliefs and understanding
Faith is trusting in whatever life can bring.
Humility is deference to the true sensibilities of others.
Humility is adherence to the truth of our experience as our experience.
Envisioning sets a direction and a sense of purpose.
Envisioning implies action and collaboration
Protection is recourse to the tools of self defense.
Protection is a plastic screen.
Keeping is a locked door and an iron safe.
Keeping is a library full of books and music.
Privacy is turning off the phone and closing the door.
Privacy is being invisible in the world.
Ownership is a picket fence with a no-trespassing sign.
Ownership is freedom to create your space as you want it.
Gathering is sharing a bottle of wine at the end of the day.
Gathering is like-minded people working for change.
Our shelter is God’s gift to us.
Our shelter is our gift to God.

July 16: Leaving It Up To God

Seth 2:  Leaving It Up To God

I feel so sad to see  you go.
I don’t know what to do or say.
It hurts to see you so alone.
It hurts to leave you in so much pain.

You say you must be a wanderer,
And it’s an empty life you didn’t choose.
You say you’re an incompetent ponderer,
And abandoned your whole life through.

If it was up to me, I’d let you out
Of all the sorrows of your past.
With perfect love, I’d dispel your doubt,
But I cannot answer what you haven’t asked.

So come again another  time
If the road you’re traveling makes you bored.
For I would like to meet your mind.
If the spirit’s willing, it’s an open door!

July 17: The Intuitive and the Revolutionary

The Intuitive and the Revolutionary

The guardian is inclined to go within

Through practices designed to enhance intuition;

Awakening her sensitivities

Through the forms of divination:

Gaining focus through meditation,

Following the patterns and the currents of feeling;

With an instinct to be empathetic;

Reflecting, in amazement on inner meaning.

She is Surrounded by people who are out in the world:

People primed for a revolution;

People out on a religious mission,

A scientist searching for a new solution.

An athlete; a businessman doing his best,

And  drawn to her quietude.

Knowing that they could not share in her quest,

As she could not hold their attitude

Of holding some standard which they have to win.

It’s an uneasy collaboration,

And it’s a necessary balance;

A complementary attraction

Stemming from people’s adherence

to divergent ways.

May 7: God As Personal Power

God As Personal Power

I look for God in everything,

Though sometimes I know it’s a stretch.

I reach for God when I pray or sing;

When I think of myself as a wretch.

I see God in everyday coincidence:

Messages that come through divination

But there’s no guarantee that an incidence

Is more than an indication.

Chorus:

In varying degrees, I know that God is here,

Whether I succeed or I fail.

Reflecting on things that I hold most dear,

I seek where God blazes a trail!

I see God when my plans succeed,

And all of my wishes seem to fall into place,

But when luck turns against me and my heart is in need,

It’s a less recognizable face.

I see God when my heart’s open wide

To any changes that come my way:

God who’s within and God outside,

But when the heart grows weak, does God go away?

Chorus

I look for God though spiritual actions

Like yoga, meditation, and dance;

I see God where I feel my strongest attractions:

Like camping in the mountains, or wild romance!

I see God in the crash of a n earthquake or storm,

Awakening fear, togetherness, and awe.

I see God is moving beyond every norm,

Yet guiding us all with Its Law!

Chorus

In varying degrees, I know that God is here,

Whether I succeed or I fail.

Reflecting on things that I hold most dear,

I seek where God blazes a trail!

May 6: Self Assessment

Self-Assessment

I don’t really have any major complaint,

Though I do feel out of phase.

I can see that the house needs a coat of paint,

And I guess I’ll get to it – one of these days.

No, I’m not even close to my Spirit’s perfection.

I hope I am headed in that direction.

I’ve decided what’s required, and it isn’t that hard.

There’s trouble abroad, which I can disregard,

And flaws in myself that I don’t have to see

While I take my adventures or make up my lists.

I’m not sure how I’m doing, but I believe I am free,

Though somehow, there’s something I’ve missed;

Every day brings another diversion,

And it’s hard to accept that it’s all in my hands.

It must be the time to take an excursion

From this world so full of demands.

Something inside that still needs to heal,

While the treadmill goes faster and faster,

That disconnects me from what I feel,

As though moved by the rapids of impending disaster!

Have I let myself get out of condition?

Am I too obsessed and with too many goals?

Am I trapped in the demands of social competition?

Was I supposed to have chosen a different role?

I live in the fear I might somehow be “gotten”

We all have the wisdom, but it’s all too soon forgotten.

I hope all I need is to get re-adjusted,

And I don’t want to admit I might really be busted.

Every day brings another distraction.

It's hard to accept that it's out of my hands.

I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a little action

In this world so full of demands!

May 5: I Want to Fall in Love

I Want to fall in Love

I want to fall in love:

Me with you; you with me:

I’m trapped in myself.  Could you please set me free?

Do you think we could fall into LOVE?

You into Me; me into You –

First to declare it and then make it true,

As we do the things that lovers do?

As I listen to you, I like what I see:

We’ve got the same issues that make raw material;

A search for awareness that sparks the ethereal;

Adventure cries for my love’s opportunity,

And our bond grows substantial as we dance in community.

I can see that we both have a need to be sexual

In the context of intimate sharing,

And that our search for wisdom is intellectual,

And we want our choices to be effectual

Of results that are worth our caring,

So we set our standards for the lives we seek,

And trust in what they’ll be attracting,

But we blind ourselves in that kind of mystique

To this person; this challenge – that’s completely unique,

And miss the  direct interacting!

We’ve just got to learn how to work things out,

Accepting each other just as we are;

Trusting in Love as our guiding star;

Being true to each other ‘til there’s no room for doubt,

Thus defining the pathway to what we’re about!

I want to check “girlfriend” off of my list;

And feel the closeness that I’ve wanted so much;

To ignite the fire of a passionate kiss;

Get over the sorrow of being dismissed;

I just want to get back in touch.

But while having a lover gets so much resolved,

It also gets in the way!

We get entangled as we get involved

In conflicts that make all our good times dissolve

Is it worth the price that we pay?

Both of our lives have so many demands

While we’re wishing to be in relation.

What we do becomes grist for contemplation,

What we’ve said with our lips; what you put in my hand;

What we bring to the conversation.

Are we here to practice performing our roles

Or get into the present to see where it leads;

Sharing our poetry to see how it reads;

Defining and conspiring towards meeting our goals,

And standing in the light of the Soul!

Let love be patient and love be kind.

We can’t help being the things we’ve become.

We must hear the beat of each others’ drums,

And mirror each others’ minds,

Until we play our music in time!

You jump to conclusions on my own sensibilities

That don’t square with the things you’ve expected.

My social relations make you feel disrespected.

I want to please you if I have the ability.

We must temper reactions with grace and humility.

‘Cause in the days I’ve found myself spending alone,

You’re in all of the things that I do,

And I want you to know what I’m going through,

And also to see your world as my own,

Though I stand at the edges of what can be known.

You don’t have to be perfect or get prepared,

But surely, you have to be willing

To respond to needs that wait for fulfilling,

Open to being right there.

We could make an awesome pair,

Honest and always fair,

Pursuing our dreams to the extent that we dare;

An expansion of Life; not a snare!

I want to fall in love:

Me with you; you with me:

I’m trapped in myself.  Could you please set me free?

Do you think we could fall into LOVE?

You into Me; me into You –

First to declare it and then make it true,

As we do the things that lovers do?

May 4: Soul-Searching Soldier

Soul-Searching Soldier

You hike down a trail with your knapsack and gun,

Just another soldier in the shadows and sun.

You won’t let it concern you if this path is incorrect.

Everyone is looking for a better position.

You can’t take time to stop and introspect

When you and your squadron have to finish up your mission!

You’re gonna seize the ammunition before it’s turned on you!

It wasn’t your decision, but you can see it’s really true!

You don’t know for certain how their base has been protected.

You can’t know for certain if they’ve guessed at your advance.

The scouts have gone ahead and you trust what they’ve inspected.

Success in this endeavor cannot be only chance!

On the trail, you think about what’s failure or success,

When the means to war’s accomplishment are causing such distress:

Creating new complexities when their systems are disrupted,

And everyone involved seems to take a different view,

While the leaders we’re supporting have been hopelessly corrupted.

Our intention was to help, but a lot has gone askew!

You see the reasons given – why we had to go to war:

Take a stand for freedom, or even up the score:

These are skewed by the economy, cheap labor, and resources;

Strategic  little gestures made – just to make it all appear

That it’s not the brute advancement of our government’s armed forces,

But a demon, or a ghost, that no one needs to fear!

And sometimes, you might wonder, though it may well be a sin,

How much it even matters if we should lose or win!

Of course, you’ll be wanting to do an honest job,

And not allow your comrades to get hurt, or even mangled,

But the country you are marching through’s been beaten, broke, and robbed.

How does our country serve without getting in the tangle?

You have felt within yourself that wild, perverted fun

That comes from the power of carrying a gun!

You’ve seen for yourself the misery you’ve caused

And the results of many kinds of brutality;

From the passions of expedience, where there aren’t any laws,

And you wonder to yourself, “Is this reality?”

You know, despite the setbacks, some things will be achieved.

So many lies, you can’t keep track – but some things you still believe.

You want to trust that there are leaders who are wise and hold good will,

Who are working for a fair and intelligent solution

You’re trying to hold it down, lest that very hope be killed.

In your courage and your fortitude, you make your contribution.

Still, you’re exposed to sufferings you had never known.

You’ve become sometimes callous, and harder than a stone.

You’ve seen hatred and greed that’s downright psychotic.

You see barefoot wanderers: sick and destitute.

And sometimes it’s hard to feel proud or patriotic,

When you’re asked to stand by and watch as people loot!

Heaven turns to chaotic hell, and you wonder who’s deserving.

Hypocrisy backs into its shell, and you ask, “Who am I serving?”

Is justice an ideal that you're helping to determine?

Or do you feel so disjointed that you don’t even care?

And when you come face to face with an absolute vermin,

Is it in your gun to be fair?

As you’re hiking up the hill, your enemy engages.

They become the target of all your fears and rages,

But you seek your best position, as it has been your training,

While bullets and grenades go flying through the air.

Your shirt is soaked in blood, but there will be no complaining.

Whose blood it is, you hardly even care!

The sergeant cries out that we can’t accept defeat.

At this spot upon the hill, there is no place to retreat.

You crawl into some underbrush where you hope you won’t be seen.

Now the guns have grown quiet, and it’s hard to know the danger.

You hear something rustling. You’re not sure what it could mean,

And you see that you are crouched behind a stranger!

Do you shoot for your country?  Do you shoot for your rage?

Do you shoot for protection?  Do you shoot for your wage?

If asked “was he your enemy?” you’d say “I cannot know,

Though don’t you think I have an alibi?”

If he had run away, do you think you’d let him go?

And what end did all the shooting  -- satisfy?

Regardless of whatever you’ve been told to do,

There are times when life speaks, and you have to be true.

Some will call you a hero.  Some will say you’re a demon.

Some will say you’re a pawn, only lost in confusion.

If you’re a slave to your duty, or escape into treason,

In warfare, there’s never any perfect solution.

And you’ll live with yourself until the day that you die.

You live what you’ve lived and may still wonder why.

Some people wonder.  Some have no respect.

Some project the resentment of where lives have been broken.

Some try to allure you, and you have to deflect

An embrace that is false; a hatred unspoken.

You retain your own dreams, and sometimes you yearn,

And life’s experiences, from which you have learned.

Crawling through the thorns was not always fun.

It was sad sometimes to be your only friend

When you did the things you felt had to be done,

‘Til that battle; that War – finally came to an end.