Gently falling rain
Plops, plinks, plunks on leaves, grass, ground
Caressing faces upturned to its touch
As it quietly sings its song of peace and praise
A Baha'i Trilemma?
15 years ago
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Some of my favs...a Haiku in 3 Lines
sunshine and blue sky
my daughter's smiles and antics
these are favorites
my daughter's smiles and antics
these are favorites
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Copied from a daily meditation I receive from Father Richard Rohr
Question of the day: How does dualistic thinking create violent people?
We Christians, who dare to worship the scapegoat, Jesus, became many times in history the primary scapegoaters ourselves—of Jews, heretics, sinners, witches, homosexuals, the poor, the natives in the New World, slaves, other denominations, and other religions. It’s rather hard to believe that we missed such a central message.
The pattern of exporting our evil elsewhere, and righteously hating it there, with impunity, is in the hardwiring of all peoples. After all, our religious task is to separate from evil, isn’t it? That is the well-disguised lie! Any exclusionary process of thinking, any exclusively dualistic thinking, will always create violent and hateful people on some level.
This I state as an absolute, and precisely because the cross revealed it to me. The crucifixion scene is our standing icon stating both the problem and the solution for all of history.
Adapted from Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, p. 143
Mantra:Jesus, help me absorb and transform evil.
We Christians, who dare to worship the scapegoat, Jesus, became many times in history the primary scapegoaters ourselves—of Jews, heretics, sinners, witches, homosexuals, the poor, the natives in the New World, slaves, other denominations, and other religions. It’s rather hard to believe that we missed such a central message.
The pattern of exporting our evil elsewhere, and righteously hating it there, with impunity, is in the hardwiring of all peoples. After all, our religious task is to separate from evil, isn’t it? That is the well-disguised lie! Any exclusionary process of thinking, any exclusively dualistic thinking, will always create violent and hateful people on some level.
This I state as an absolute, and precisely because the cross revealed it to me. The crucifixion scene is our standing icon stating both the problem and the solution for all of history.
Adapted from Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, p. 143
Mantra:Jesus, help me absorb and transform evil.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Teachers who go above and beyond
My dear daughter performed in the 2nd of 2 performances of a play/musical she was in tonite. She played Fern in "Charlotte's Web" and did a great job, got lots of compliments. She is blessed with many natural gifts. I'm envious. But that is not the subject of my blessing for today.
Her two teachers, who volunteered all of their time for auditions, rehearsals and performances, to make this show happen, are the blessings about whom I want to speak.
They blessed the students in the play and, by extension, the students' families and the entire school community with the generous way they shared their talents, encouragement, coaching, time and on and on. And I know they are not the exception, at least not at my daughter's school and probably not in many schools.
As we were driving home I remarked to my daughter about how fortunate she was to be blessed with many natural talents and reminded her, unnecessarily, of how she still needed to work hard to develop her gifts to the fullest. I also told her that she needed to share those gifts whenever she could, my spiritual beliefs speaking, because truly our gifts are meant to be shared and are not really all they can be until they are. In the case of acting and singing, it's not just the sharing by performing that I mean, but the sharing the way her teachers share. Passing those gifts along to those who want to share in them.
So thanks Mrs. B and Ms. B. You two are true gems and bless your students and the wider community, myself included, daily with your energy and devotion to helping your students blossom in ways both large and small. May you both be blessed with continued love and passion for your craft and with the appreciation of the many who benefit from that love and passion.
Amen.
Her two teachers, who volunteered all of their time for auditions, rehearsals and performances, to make this show happen, are the blessings about whom I want to speak.
They blessed the students in the play and, by extension, the students' families and the entire school community with the generous way they shared their talents, encouragement, coaching, time and on and on. And I know they are not the exception, at least not at my daughter's school and probably not in many schools.
As we were driving home I remarked to my daughter about how fortunate she was to be blessed with many natural talents and reminded her, unnecessarily, of how she still needed to work hard to develop her gifts to the fullest. I also told her that she needed to share those gifts whenever she could, my spiritual beliefs speaking, because truly our gifts are meant to be shared and are not really all they can be until they are. In the case of acting and singing, it's not just the sharing by performing that I mean, but the sharing the way her teachers share. Passing those gifts along to those who want to share in them.
So thanks Mrs. B and Ms. B. You two are true gems and bless your students and the wider community, myself included, daily with your energy and devotion to helping your students blossom in ways both large and small. May you both be blessed with continued love and passion for your craft and with the appreciation of the many who benefit from that love and passion.
Amen.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Blessing of the day...
Thrift Stores...
I love em.....One person's "tired of's, don't need, want or use anymore's, are another person's treasures.
The ultimate in reuse!!
I love em.....One person's "tired of's, don't need, want or use anymore's, are another person's treasures.
The ultimate in reuse!!
Friday, January 22, 2010
a meditation by Richard Rohr
Tonite when I would be writing this post...I'm chatting with a friend on facebook. Knew him in highschool. Probably Jr High too. We were never close but he reached out to me on facebook. He seems to need to connect. So we are doing so.
I was blessed this evening by the most beautiful email meditation from Richard Rohr. Thought provoking and revolutionary and, did I mention, beautiful?
It is below...
Question of the Day:Whom do I expel or exclude in my life?
The absolute religious genius of Jesus is that he ignores all debt codes, purity codes, religious quarantines, and the endless searching for sinners. He refuses to divide the world into the pure and the impure, much to the chagrin of almost everybody—then and now. Unlike most churches, he is not into “sin management.” He is into transformation.
Jesus is shockingly not upset with sinners! He is only upset with people who do not think they are sinners. In most of history, religion thought its mission was to somehow expel sin and evil. As if it could. After Jesus we find out that the real sin lies in the very act of expelling. Jesus knew there is no place to expel it to. It only hides underground.
Either we carry and transform the evil of human history as our own problem, or we increase its power by hating and punishing it “over there.” It will eventually come back to bite us. Jesus taught us how to hold, absorb, and transform the human situation, not to deny it, punish it, or project it elsewhere. He then dramatically illustrated this pattern on the cross, and it became resurrection!
I was blessed this evening by the most beautiful email meditation from Richard Rohr. Thought provoking and revolutionary and, did I mention, beautiful?
It is below...
Question of the Day:Whom do I expel or exclude in my life?
The absolute religious genius of Jesus is that he ignores all debt codes, purity codes, religious quarantines, and the endless searching for sinners. He refuses to divide the world into the pure and the impure, much to the chagrin of almost everybody—then and now. Unlike most churches, he is not into “sin management.” He is into transformation.
Jesus is shockingly not upset with sinners! He is only upset with people who do not think they are sinners. In most of history, religion thought its mission was to somehow expel sin and evil. As if it could. After Jesus we find out that the real sin lies in the very act of expelling. Jesus knew there is no place to expel it to. It only hides underground.
Either we carry and transform the evil of human history as our own problem, or we increase its power by hating and punishing it “over there.” It will eventually come back to bite us. Jesus taught us how to hold, absorb, and transform the human situation, not to deny it, punish it, or project it elsewhere. He then dramatically illustrated this pattern on the cross, and it became resurrection!
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