There 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.
Even 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.]
Abba
Daddy
I am at home within those arms,
Safe within that heart.
The Daddy who adopted me
Has shown me love,
Even when I was not aware
Even when I did not understand the sacrifice,
Even when I could not return it well.
My Daddy embodies love,
Drawing from the greater love,
That echoes in his embrace
And I am grateful.
[image edited from photo by Melissa Gutierrez per cc 2.0]
Words can only do so much.
They cannot contain the deepest truth,
But they can point the way.
They are not the handles for reality,
But they are tools for exploration.
And, so, let the words of my mouth
and the meditations of my heart
Hold true – even when they are too small
To hold truth.
Every true friendship
Holds the whisper of divinity.
What some see in the sunrise,
I glimpse within your smile.
The hug you bring in greeting
Is always a double embrace.
These truths hold my heart
And feed my life.
Thank you.
[photo by Corey Balazowich per cc 2.0]
Words are never enough
But they are something
And sometimes they open the way for more.
It is my wish, that my words might break illusion
Or spark that quick intake of breath
That sets your heart to dancing.
[photo by ashley.adcox per cc 2.0]
Binocular vision helps us to see
That it takes more than one perspective
To really see well; to see with depth.
See?
Yeah, me, too.
And, we, together … even more.
[photo by Thomas Hawk per cc 2.0]
Grateful.
So grateful.
For friendship’s touch in the fingers of my true love.
For each day’s small kindnesses, given freely with abundance.
For a soft kiss and a sly smile
For a deep honesty that helps me stay grounded.
For playful humor
For that home I find within those arms.
My life is delightfully tangled with this gift.
And I am so very grateful.
There are moments that catch your heart between beats
That catch your breath; that catch your soul.
Such moments whisper of a wholeness that cannot be broken,
And you know, oh, you know, it is so.
[photo by Mike Bizzeau, from the wonderful blog, nature has no boss, used with permission. The title of this blog also comes from his caption on this photo.]
He is risen!
Now … we can rise, as well.
To life
To love
To joyful celebration.
Why wait?
Eternal life starts now.
“The risen Christ is the standing icon of humanity in its full and final destiny. He is the pledge and guarantee of what God will do with all our crucifixions.” – Richard Rohr
[image cropped from photo by lady habib per cc 2.0]
Quiet Hope 