LISTENING

I hear you talking
but am I listening.
How often are we in a room with someone
but not present?
How often do I not stop,
and think before I speak?
What if I did?

How much different would
our lives be if were mindful
in our listening and
intentional in our speaking
with others?

Can you hear my feelings
just by the energy
radiating from me?
What if we were present?
What if we listened with our
hearts, minds, and souls?

Just for today,
may we be intentional
about being present
and intentional about
listening and
speaking
and being a channel
for the Divine.

LOVE HEALS

Sadly, I am so often reminded
we live in a world where we are
taught to see divisions.
This is what fear and hatred do
they divide
They build walls and construct barriers
which divide us from one another
and keep the systems in place;
systems which divide and conquer.

Love heals.
Love teaches us to see
the whole
Love unifies.
Love builds bridges which
enable us to meet,
talk,
discuss,
and understand.
Love enables us to transform the world
one person,
one relationship,
one community
at a time

HOSPITALITY

There is a peace which surpasses understanding
when we open our hearts to strangers.
We want to draw a line between us and them.
We would rather turn away or disconnect,
then build a bridge.
We are focused on walls which separate,
then bridges that connect.

Hospitality is about building bridges.
It is about living in a way which opens us up
which challenges us to act out of love.
It is about taking the risk
and finding joy in the unknown.
It is about finding positive energy
where we sought not to look.

Hospitality
is about love,
light,
positive energy,
joy,
courage, and
love.
Hospitality is
intentional
and radical.
It is about seeing
the Divine
in the stranger
and the strange.

APOLOGIZING

i woke up this morning
thinking about the person
who said I was nagging her
even though it was not my intent.
Sometimes we hurt people
whether we intend to or not.
Regardless the damage is the same.

Today I apologize because
I regret anytime I hurt someone
intentionally or not.
I apologize to all those I have hurt
and never knew I hurt.
I apologize for anything
and everything I have done
which has bought about
harm to anyone in my life.

I apologize to myself
for all the times I did not treat
my mind, body or soul
with the utmost respect.
I apologize to myself for the times
I did not stand up and speak out
when others were trying to harm me
I apologize to the world
for all the times I did not cry,
did not pray
and did not contribute to the healing
over global atrocities

if you are reading this
and I have hurt you
or you have been hurt
I apologize and pray
for your healing

TRY

Thanks for the slap upside the head. I was listening to Mandy Harvey sing on America’s Got Talent. Her story about losing her hearing and how it erased her dream of being a musician. She sang this song called Try. Her lyrics really spoke to me and the changes in my life due to my back and nerve damage. She wrote, “I don't feel the way I used to The sky is grey much more than it is blue But I know one day I'll get through.”  When I lost the feeling on my right side I did not feel the way I used to, literally. I did not know how I was going to learn how to do things when I did not know where my foot was and had to learn how to think my leg into moving. There were days that I was grieving the loss of my independence. I grieved not being able to drive anymore. I grieved There were mornings I would be so frustrated and cry because I could not even put my sock or shoe on by myself. On those especially tough days I would tell myself I will get through.

Just when I thought things could not get worse, they eliminated my paratransit services, which made it possible for me to go out, have fun, and hang with friends. That bought about one more loss and one more thing to grieve. There were days that the sky was grey, so I found myself being intentional about doing things in my life to keep myself positive and making my home such an amazing place to be that nobody who came here, including myself, would want to leave. I knew this would either be my prison cell or an ashram, so I opted to transform it into an ashram.

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