Halloween

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There in the midst of goblins and glitter,
There where shy eyes peek out behind scary masks,
There where audacious personas dance with secret dreams,
There you are.

On this day you pick your fantasy
Or face your fears in your own mirror.
There is more to us than school uniforms or suit coats.
Isn’t it interesting what can be revealed by a mask?

And isn’t it a wonder, a gift of grace,
That all the strange variety of life,
Can knock on our doors this night,
And we smile and give candy and well wishes.

[photo is my own]

There are no words …

quiet wordless beauty.jpg

There are times when words won’t do.
In the face of great beauty or great loss,
Words show their frailty,
Their ragged edges fraying in the wind.

We clasp our hands across our mouths
When we encounter horror.
Or wonder.
It is all too big for words; for us.

So, it should not be a surprise
When we discover
That no words can capture God.
(A turn of phrase that makes it doubly clear.)

Words are a wonderful gift,
Helping us scoop meaning from the soup of life,
But they are not enough, not enough, to hold it all.

And so, when words fail,
I hope to stop the struggle to find them,
And, instead, let myself be found,
Snuggled worldessly within your arms.

 

[photo by Wade Brooks per cc 2.0]

The question

The question is not whether you will fall … or fail … or get it all wrong … or totally screw up.

The question is whether you will get up and try again.

That is faithfulness.

That is faith.

Like a little child.

[photo is my own]

the space between the words

whispered wisdomSometimes, in reading other’s words, a phrase rings so very true that it expands my soul and feeds my journey. For me, these are among the ‘thin places’ that the Celts acknowledged – places where the space between the mundane and the holy is whisper thin.

I hope they will brush your soul with grace, and, perhaps, stir us all to action, as well.

Here’s an addition to this collection, added 1/19/20:

““I’m talking about a strong, demanding love. For I have seen too much hate. I’ve seen too much hate on the faces of sheriffs in the South. I’ve seen hate on the faces of too many KlansmMLKingmemorial 3.jpgen and too many White Citizens Councilors in the South to want to hate, myself, because every time I see it, I know that it does something to their faces and their personalities, and I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear. I have decided to love.” – MLK, quoted in The Pause newsletter 1 19 20 by OnBeing. 

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“Let beauty be beauty, don’t worship it. Let your family be your family, don’t expect everything from them. Let work be work, don’t let it define you. Let our nation be our nation, not something to kill for.

Let life be what it is: a beautiful gift full of trouble, days of joy and contradiction, expiring in our hands. Life isn’t everything. We shouldn’t try to wring eternity from existence.”  – Matt Fitzgerald [as posted here]

Image of Franz Kafka

Art, like prayer, is a hand outstretched in the darkness, seeking for some touch of grace which will transform it into a hand that bestows gifts, Franz Kafka – [as quoted here by Maria Popova – photo by per cc 2.0]

Hannah BonnerTears were not weakness when falling from her eyes, they were what courage looks like when it takes a minute to breathe.” [Hannah Bonner-photo and quote used with permission]

Frederick Buechner

One of the blunders religious people are particularly fond of making is the attempt to be more spiritual than God.” – Frederick Buechner; photo by Carl Van Vechten [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]

photo of Richard RohrJesus did not come to change the mind of God about humanity (it did not need changing)! Jesus came to change the mind of humanity about God.” – Richard Rohr – [Image cropped from photo by Festival of Faiths per cc 2.0]

[From time to time I will add to this collection, placing the new phrase at the top of the list.]  [photo at the top of the post by Pearl Pirie per cc 2.0]

a good day

blissful dance

A good day
Is one in which you dance the dance you were born to,
And hear your own heart cheerfully applaud
Even as the world sighs with deep gratitude
And the Holy One nods and winks in your direction.

It is a gift to give your gift.

 

[photo by John Getchel per cc 2.0]

[Kudos to On Being’s newsletter – The Pause – for the reminder about what makes a good day.]

Fingerprints of faith

fingerprint against the sky
Faith has the ability
to hold on to hope in a world like this.
Faith resides in the whole self
and grows in community.
Faith is often shaped more by story than by fact:
story moves.
Faith gives new eyes, new ears, a new heart,
to see the culture of love emerging.

I need this kind of faith.

[photo by Josean Prado per cc 2.0]

the difference

eyes are watching youThere is a profound difference between being watched and being seen.
One sets you apart as an object to be observed, perhaps even judged.
The other celebrates you as you are, inviting true relationship,

So, please stop watching me.
Instead, let us really see one another.
If we do that, love will follow.

[photo by wplynn per cc 2.0]

what love bears

photo of a young infantEven when love works hard –
And it does work hard –
It often does so with a smile
Rather than with gritted teeth.

I am reminded that the phrase
‘Love bears all things’
Can mean that love gives birth to all things.
When life comes, it comes through love.

[photo by novinha2007 per cc 2.0]
[This draws upon the work of Cynthia Bourgeault as quoted by Richard Rohr.]