The Less Friction You Make

The Less Friction You Make

The less friction you make 
as you move through this world,
the more power you will gather 
and can store. 

Fire will take an interest in you,
thinking you are an heir to Light. 

Reason will take an interest in you,
thinking you are an heir to Truth. 

And you will wait, for your time to come,
to speak up with passion,
to tear down some walls of tyranny. 

 Stained Glass, Keith Green

There Is A Place

There Is A Place

There is a place between knowing you are priceless 
and at the same time, recognizing you are nothing. 

Somewhere between those two poles, live;
if you can.

       Keith Green's The Prodigal Son Suite touches on life between these two poles, while at the same time telling a compelling story of redemption. The opening orchestral music is just breathtaking. Take a listen!

The Prodigal Son Suite, Keith Green

Keep Squeezing Drops Of The Sun

Keep Squeezing Drops Of The Sun

I know the voice of depression 
still calls to you.

I know that habits that can ruin 
still send their invitations. 

But keep squeezing drops of the Sun

from your prayers and work and music
and from your companions' beautiful laughter 

from the sacred hands and knowing glance
of your Beloved,

from actions of delight and freedom 
and Love,

from the most insignificant movements 
of your own holy body, 

keep squeezing drops of the Sun. 

        Below are selections from William Wordsworth's Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood, I think the paint a tremendous picture of the astonishment that can be lost as we transition from child to adult. Sometimes, this unknown loss adds to our perceived misfortune. 

THERE was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, 

The earth, and every common sight, 

To me did seem 

Apparell'd in celestial light, 

The glory and the freshness of a dream. 

It is not now as it hath been of yore;— 

Turn wheresoe'er I may, 

By night or day, 

The things which I have seen I now can see no more. 

The rainbow comes and goes, 

And lovely is the rose; 

The moon doth with delight 

Look round her when the heavens are bare; 

Waters on a starry night 

Are beautiful and fair; 

The sunshine is a glorious birth; 

But yet I know, where'er I go, 

That there hath pass'd away a glory from the earth. 

Ye blessèd creatures, I have heard the call 

Ye to each other make; I see 

The heavens laugh with you in your jubilee; 

My heart is at your festival, 

My head hath its coronal, 

The fullness of your bliss, I feel—I feel it all. 

O evil day! if I were sullen 

While Earth herself is adorning, 

This sweet May-morning, 

And the children are culling 

On every side, 

In a thousand valleys far and wide, 

Fresh flowers; while the sun shines warm, 

And the babe leaps up on his mother's arm:— 

I hear, I hear, with joy I hear! 

—But there's a tree, of many, one, 

A single field which I have look'd upon, 

Both of them speak of something that is gone: 

The pansy at my feet 

Doth the same tale repeat:

Whither is fled the visionary gleam? 

Where is it now, the glory and the dream?

Eternal Rain Drop from Warrior of Light Blog

Hearing Someone Laugh

Hearing Someone Laugh

Have you ever felt jealous hearing someone laugh? 
And then began to think to yourself,

"Why am I so caught in the world's snare? 
Why don't I know right now the freedom
in other voices when their spirit like an
arrow takes flight above the hour's concern?"

But the heart's laughter is never there to taunt,
real laughter is a waving, a beckoning, a message,
a willing call to all that says,

"Come here, we're having fun!" 

        I absolutely love the idea that laughter is when "the spirit, like an arrow, takes flight above the hour's concern". It's such a peaceful verse to meditate on, the comfort that we can rise above our troubles for a few seconds and forget as our soul takes delight. It's also uplifting to hear that laughter is "an invitation to others".
        Take a listen to this uplifting tune:

You Put This Love In My Heart (1977), Keith Green

Pour You God

Pour You God

God needs sacred tablets 
where He can write His resplendent verse,
and I have become such a stone. 

I build canals into the cities and plains.
I run beside small villages and sing. 
I nourish the roots of stars and mankind. 
Birds fly to my shores. 

I ecstatically speak with words,
and also with the purest language - silence - 
saying in a thousand different ways
to everyone; countrymen, comets, and stars: 
"I am so full of love, bring your cup,
and I will pour you God." 

I Am, Mark Schultz

Every Horse Should Run Full Speed

Every Horse Should Run Full Speed

Accomplish something with your life;
use all your wits and talents.

As every horse should be able 
to run full speed,
and know all the beauty and wonder
of its strength. 

         Today is my mom's birthday, I wish her the full speed of a beautiful running horse and the ageless wisdom contained with Wordsworth's poem. I love you, Mom!

Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey

William Wordsworth

Oh that best portion of a good man's life, 

His little, nameless, unremembered, acts 

Of kindness and of love. 

Nor less, I trust, To them I may have owed another gift, 

Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood, 

In which the burthen of the mystery, 

In which the heavy and the weary weight 

Of all this unintelligible world, Is lightened:

- that serene and blessed mood,

by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, 

We see into the life of things - and become a living soul. 

Wild Horses

Photograph by: Chuck Haney

There Is A Face Here

There Is A Face Here

Don't you know you could bring an end
to so much suffering,

if you just walked through the streets,
looking at everyone, 
as you do your Beloved? 

There is an enchanting face here, 
if you can slow down,
and behold in an extraordinary way. 

        How do you look at your Beloved? At others? At yourself?

"I would describe myself

like a landscape I've studied

at length, in detail;

like a word I'm coming to understand;

like a pitcher I pour from at mealtime;

like my mother's face;

like a ship that carried me

when the waters raged." 

Rainer Maria Rilke, The Book of Hours I, 13

When God Made You, Newsong

Don't Charge Too Much For A Beautiful Prayer

Don't Charge Too Much For A Beautiful Prayer

God brought me to an emerald field 
and said, "Harvest." 

As I began to load my wagon 
with various things, He spoke again: 
"But don't charge too much for what 
I gave to you in exchange for a beautiful prayer." 

Not on its own will the meadow seek payment 
to be near its soft body;
someone, though, may stand nearby in a booth 
by a gate and make you
pay to get close. 

"It has never been like that with me,
so invite all others in." 

        God invites everyone near him, the poor, the rich, the sick, the healthy, the old, the young, the unbelievers and the believers alike. He says to come sit at his table, to share in his gift of eternal life. When Jesus was on Earth, he didn't just go to the safe places, He went to everyone, so that His light could be most effective. He did not build walls and gates to keep the less trustworthy out. He did not charge fees to prioritize financial stability. He just said come and follow me, and people dropped what they were doing and came.
        Matthew 5:16: "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Dunsmuir Lodge, A meadow in California

Everyone Should Be Honored Like This

Everyone Should Be Honored Like This

When people come to my house for the first time,
I will kneel before them and ask for their hand,
and place the back of it against my forehead. 

Everyone should be honored like this.
What else can make you grow? 

I am one of God's pillars in this world,
I must extend His Love, carry out His Wish. 

And what of those for whom it would be best 
if they did not see me humbly before them - 
on my knees, until they are ready? 

Well, at night in my prayers, 
I place my head upon their feet. 

        Yesterday I head a truly inspiring story, and am proud to call this man my friend. You can read it here: Kidney Donation. After an amazing act of grace, kindness, selflessness, and brotherly love, Michael was still willing to give up the glory to God. How many of us would donate a kidney to man we just met? How many of us would eagerly defer the gratitude away from ourselves? It literally leaves me speechless.

One Thing Remains (2010), Jesus Culture 

A Mime

A Mime

A mime stands upon a gallows 
for a crime he did not do.
When give a last chance to speak
he remains true to his art.

A crowd of hundreds has gathered 
to see his final performance,
knowing he will not talk. 

The mime takes from the sky 
many bright spheres,
lays them on a table,
expressing deep love for the companionship
and guidance they have given him 
for so many years. 

He brings the sea before our eyes.
Somehow, an emerald fin appears, splashes. 
Look, there is turquoise rain.

He removes his heart from his body 
and seems to arouse all life 
on this splendid earth.

He mounts his soul upon the body of Freedom.
The great breeze comes by.
The sun and the moon join hands. 

For a moment, an extraordinary moment,
everyone knows that God is real. 


         This poem reads more like a story and I would encourage you to read it that way, to let it speak to you as its intended, to impart someone's life story, their final moments lived in trueness to their own self. In Letters To A Young Poet, Rilke penned: "Most experiences are unsayable; they come to fullness in a realm that words do not inhabit. And most unsayable of all are works of art, which —alongside our transient lives— mysteriously endure.
        And so as the sun set, the mime gestured on, mysteriously enduring.

That Does Not Know Sadness

That Does Not Know Sadness

You entered form to give a holy message.
An envoy from inconceivable is each of us. 

When you have completed that courageous task
you will be able to return to a world
that does not sadness. 

But so difficult your divine errand, 
it will take a lifetime to accomplish,
love along the way. 

        Essentially, this poem is saying in this world we will know loneliness, pain, despair, misfortune, sadness, fear, etc., but in Heaven these things will disappear. Conversely, this task of ours, life, will take a lifetime to accomplish (literally be an unfinished masterpiece until our final breath), and through it we must endure these things, while taking the time to love along the way.

         In Rilke's letters to Franz Xaver Kappus contained his perspective on suffering, prompted by Kappus asking for advice on the matter: "If only we could see a little farther than our knowledge reaches and a little beyond the borders of our intuition, we might perhaps bear our sorrows more trustingly than we do our joys. For they are the moments when something new enters us, something unknown. So don't be frightened, dear friend, if a sadness confronts you larger than any you have ever known, casting its shadow over all you do. You must think that something is happening within you, and remember that life has not forgotten you; it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall. Why would you want to exclude from your life any uneasiness, any pain, any depression, since you don't know what work they are accomplishing within you?"

Don't Laugh At Me, Peter, Paul, & Mary

When You Have Not Had A Drink of Love

When You Have Not Had A Drink of Love

I know the way you can get when you 
have not had a drink of Love;

your face hardens, your muscles cramp, 
a strange look appears in your eyes.

Others sense your sadness,
you rip apart the sentences of friends,
weigh every word, judge many, 

and then when you meet Love,
you pull out a ruler to measure 
from every angle in your darkness,
the beautiful dimensions of this heart
that has greeted yours. 

Stop, just drink, 
just drink Love,
and give Love,
give. 

       I love how Hafiz writes this, just allow Love to greet you. Stop thinking, stop wondering, stop contemplating. Love is irrational, love is without reason, that's what makes it pure, that's what makes it emanate from the soul.

       In Letter's To A Young Poet, Rilke beautifully describes this mystery that is without words, that is beyond words: "Whoever takes it seriously, discovers that, as with death which is real, so with real love, there are no easy recipes. For both these undertakings, there are no universally agreed-upon rules. But in the same measure that we begin as individuals to explore life's meaning for us, these great things come toward us to be met and known. The claims made upon us by the hard work of love are bigger than life and essential to our unfolding, and we are seldom up to them at the outset. But if we hold steady and take this love upon us as a task and a teaching, instead of losing ourselves in an easy and frivolous game behind which to hide the most honest questions of our existence—this may be felt as a small illumination and step forward by those who come long after us. That in itself would be a lot." O, to write like that!
       Listen to the lyrics of Paul Stookey's song Wedding Song (There Is Love): "You believe in something you never did before." 

Wedding Song (There Is Love), Paul Stookey 

A Hundred Wonderful Gifts

A Hundred Wonderful Gifts

The words of a true teacher can bring 
to my mind and soul
such nourishment and life,

like the way the valleys of the earth cup
their hands for light and drink;

like the way the desert opens up its sweet mouth,
and laughs, when someone melts pearls in the sky,
and rain, rain returns like a divine lover;

with a hundred wonderful gifts. 

        What would your 100 wonderful gifts be? Family? Friends? Kindness? Laughter? Dessert? A smile? A sunrise? A snowstorm? Another interesting question is "What has been your most meaningful purchase under $100?" I've always liked this question because it forces people to think of meaningful purchases apart from their home, their car, their vacation to XYZ, etc.

My List (2001), Toby Keith

Helping The Dawn Appear

Helping The Dawn Appear

I was standing in the field,
helping the dawn appear,
when I turned around in amazement, 
and knew this: 
Our souls can help us find new horizons,
our souls cause love to evolve.

      In one of Rilke's personal journals, simply cited as "Early Journals", he wrote a wonderful line about greeting the new day, or in Hafiz's words, "helping the dawn appear":

     "And today, once again, a new morning: bright, with close, rounded clouds that frame expanses of the immeasurably deep sky. There are so many days here, none like any other. And beneath all their differences is this great similarity: the gratitude in which they are received." 

Sunrise over Mt. Rainer (2014)

The Table Where You Ate

The Table Where You Ate

For your sake we are here,
not for our own.
Why should I ever complain 
about working in the shop
where you did? 

And the table, earth, where you ate -
isn't that good enough for me? 

Your legs stretched out across 
every particle of space
I might ever encounter;
the wise could build monuments
here because of this.

If my senses were less dull 
the scent of your breath 
would enter me,

for you exhaled something 
of your soul into this world,
and what you do does last. 

For your sake, Beloved,
we are here, not for our own,
no matter what directions our 
thoughts and actions may turn. 

When dawn pulls the veil from my eye,
the scent of your breath will enter me forever,
and lift every sail. 

           We are here to fulfill God's divine purpose for our life. Our direction is not our own, as our destiny is God's. That's not to say we don't have free will, we do, and we can technically choose our own direction at any given moment. But this life may ultimately fail to satisfy us, as we left no room open for the plans God intended (the plans that quite honestly are better than any we can conceive of). Hebrews 12:1 has this interesting line to explain The Cross, "who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross". That's powerful, don't postpone joy, pursue it. It is what we will know in the kingdom of Heaven and it is what we can know here if we lead fluid lives ready to be amended by God.

What If (2005), Nichole Nordeman

We Have Some Leverage

We Have Some Leverage

Always assume you are on the best of terms
with God, for dear, I will tell you a truth:
Each of us is like His only heir. 

       Ask yourself this question, where is your citizenship? Is it Heaven with God, like the bible says? Ephesians 2:19: "This kingdom of faith is now your home country." Isn't that a marvelous thought, that we are ambassadors for God on Earth and one day will return to our home country as an heir of that kingdom? But if we live with Earth as our domain, our place of refuge, we live with our glory as our job, our career, our love interest, our income, all things that can be taken away.

Whom Shall I Fear (2013), Chris Tomlin

Everything I Have Is Also Yours

Everything I Have Is Also Yours

There are so many gifts still unopened from your soul's birthday.
There are so many hand-crafted presents 
that have been sent into your life by God. 

The Beloved does not mind repeating: 
"Everything I have is also yours." 

A lover is a vital performance, 
a sweet breath in one of Creation's favorite songs. 

       There’s something to be said about gifts from our Beloved, and how much they can mean to us. The transient gifts, the new shirt, the better shoes, will fade with time. But what about love letters? About sweet nothings whispered to our soul? About moonlight and sunrises shared in deep embrace? These things have enduring power, they make us feel wanted, needed even. Is it because they take more effort than a glance? An offer for a drink? A quick drop of cash at the local store? With letters, is it because we can revisit their words as many times as we want and treasure the creases we form in our favorite spots? Or is it just because a letter about someone’s love for us touches us in the innermost part, where we are deeply human? Where we yearn to be touched by all souls who find common ground with our own?
        Take a listen to this incredibly beautiful love song.

Love, Me (1991), Collin Raye

Giving Thanks Is Dangerous

Giving Thanks Is Dangerous

Giving thanks is dangerous,
for inherent in doing so is 
to reaffirm duality.
And duality is living on
borrowed time.

Thanks to God are most always an admitting,
always a making of a statment that basically 

says, "I am glad things are no longer 
as they were." 

From perfect to perfect we go.
From unconscious divinity to conscious God. 

A masterpiece you always were. 
Anyone who truly sees would never want 
you to change,

until you have given to this world 
all you were supposed to. 

        Below is a powerful song to accompany this powerful poem. Here are my favorite lyrics:

I know Who goes before me

I know Who stands behind

The God of angel armies

Is always by my side

The One who reigns forever

He is a Friend of mine

The God of angel armies

Is always by my side

Whom Shall I Fear (2013), Chris Tomlin

Where Dolphins Dance

Where Dolphins Dance

Again the work starts
As soon as you open your eyes 
in the morning.

Hoepfully you got 
some good rest 

Why go into the city or fields
without first kissing God - 

who always stands at your door? 

It takes only a second,
and why not,
create some habit that will mint 
gold?

Your arms are violin bows
your eyes are warm,
soft oceans of divine music,

where jeweled dolphins dance
and then leap into this world. 

If You Just Untie The Sun

If You Just Untie The Sun 

All your problems can be solved.

All your problems can be solved,

if you just untie that sun that somehow

got leashed on a pole in you. 

         Remember that there is light inside you, meaningful and marvelous, just waiting to be shared with the world.

Who Could Read All This?

Who Could Read All This?

To God, there is never a question 
of giving or not giving 

God's mercy is a natural reflex;
moreover it is just there. 
It is like the water in a lake -
a fish should never ask permission 
to drink or be alive in. 

As much thought as a fish would give 
to any needed divine sanction to move 
his fins or paddle in the Ocean,
so is there a proportionate suffering 
meant to correct any misconceiving notions 
you harbor about Truth. 

I don't want to explain this any further
Mercy and Grace are just there;
they are attributes of light,
they want nothing but to be. 

              Today, as we morn the passing of Robin Williams, I would like to add that just as grace and mercy simply are, so is laughter. The quote his I most enjoy is, "Comedy is acting out optimism." Indeed, it is, comedy nourishes the soul. 

My Eyes So Soft

My Eyes So Soft

Don't surrender your loneliness so quickly.
Let it cut more deeply. 

Let it ferment and season you 
as few human ingredients can. 

Something missing in my heart tonight
has made my eyes so soft, 
my voice so tender,
my need of God,
so absolutely clear. 

        Heartbreak can be the most devastating loneliness, it's probably second only to loss of life. The thing is that loss of something does make our need for God more clear, it makes our hearts yearn for something permanent, something not "just passing through". It's when we begin to consider ourselves citizens of His kingdom, instead of this earth, that we are able to deal with loss, with pain, with doubt, with betrayal, and with loneliness.
        Again, tying Hafiz's words with those of another poet's, Neruda wrote in “Tonight I Can Write”: “Tonight I can write the saddest lines
Write, for example,
“The night is starry and the stars are blue and shiver in the distance”
Through nights like this one I held her in my arms
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky
Tonight I can write the saddest lines
To think that I do not have her
To feel that I have lost her
To hear the immense night, still more immense without her
And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture
What does it matter that my love could not keep her
The night is starry and she is not with me.”

            Isn't it amazing what this poem draws out of you and makes you feel? 

Just to See You Smile (1997), Tim McGraw

The Earth's Silhouettes

The Earth's Silhouettes

What plant can grow if 
you keep lifting it from the soil? 

Let your roots expand unchecked 
into a forest, a river, a song,
or some verse you hold tenderly. 

You need to become quiet for this,
as roots work in silence
beneath the earth's silhouettes. 

Draw from souls all you ever could 
want above, below, and to the side, 
and within us, within us just love. 

      I love romantic poetry, it is my absolute favorite! Just to include another poem, in the poem “I Remember You As You Were” Neruda pens:

“I remember you as you were last autumn

in your eyes the flames of twilight fought on

and the leaves fell in the water of your soul.

...

Sky from a ship. Field from the hills.

Your memory is made of light, of smoke, of a still pond

Beyond your eyes, farther on, the evenings were blazing.”

        Imagine penning these words, what mighty power!

She's Everything (2009), Brad Paisley

Let Me Think A Second

Let Me Think A Second

Some great high-wire act the path 
to God becomes.

And look at that long pole 
that is also needed to balance you,
so you don't fall.

And look at that long pole that is also 
needed to gain balance so you don't fall. 

Let me think a second.
How about in part:
doing something that you know 
will be good for you,
that you have not yet done.
And of course, humility,
and of course, kindness. 

          Which way will you go in life? And where? And what will you prioritize? Will it be money? Love? Finding a spouse who believes in God? Vacation? Having children? Getting a degree? What will be your creed - the morals and values that you give your life to. Hafiz urges us to do something good, do something humble, and do something kind. Oddly enough, I think doing something humble is the most difficult one of all. For, if you serve and feel good about your service and begin to praise yourself, have you actually humbled yourself before God and the people you served?

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”

― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

― Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday to You!

Women In Their Tender Way

Women In Their Tender Way

God listens more to women's prayers than
men's when women are in their tender way.

Because often they have achieved with
the blessings of the earth

what a man can rarely do on his own:
bring empathy, sensitivity, and kindness
into the heart and mind,

and make the voice more tender,
one's touch more gentle,
one's plea more powerful
from it being so sincere.

        I think this poem mainly serves to illustrate how authenticity matters, being vulnerable mattesr. Women are able to do the latter more easily because we are often expected to assume that position if assuming that position is left down to a man and a woman. The "tender way" describes the gentleness that masks mighty undertones, the way MLk must have marched on Washington. So I don't think this poem is strictly about women, but perhaps a sympathetic and soft person that we can all aim for.
       So how do you know if the person you meet is this kind of person? Well, The Purpose for Marriage by Gemma Valentine has, in my opinion, a great definition of marriage and the hope that we see love of our life again one day: “Within the Christian vision for marriage, here’s what it means to fall in love. It is to look at another person and get a glimpse of the person God is continuously creating, and to say, “I see who God is making you, and it excites me! I want to be part of that. I want to partner with you and God in the journey you are taking to explore His earthly treasures and then to His throne. And when we get there, I will look at your magnificence and say, ‘I always knew you could be like this. I got glimpses of it on earth, but now look at you!' That is to love deeply, wholeheartedly, and truly. If you want a forever love, then wait for a Godly match.’"

 Another Love (2012), Tom Odell

The Sole Heir To The King

The Sole Heir To The King

Perhaps for one minute out of the day
it may be of value to torture yourself 
with thoughts like, 

"I should be doing more with my life." 

But remember for just one minute. 

With all the rest of your time 
it would be best to try looking 
upon yourself as God does. 

For God knows your true nature,
He knows your music and light. 

           This is so true, God is more interested in the workman than in the work. He must work in you before he can work through you. And God is omnipotent and omniscient, he knows your potential, your failures, your powers, your pleas, and the your shimmer - as you shine as a light for this world that only you could.

Give Me Your Eyes (1997), Brandon Heath

Some Kind of Thirst

Some Kind of Thirst

Need brings us together; that makes need sacred. 
If a person did not have some kind of thirst,
would she ever approach you on her own? 

Would his eye ever ask your eye for comfort? 
Would his hand ever want to hold yours? 

The oasis does not sleep; it is always open;
its very being invites one close;
anything you want from its body, it will say, 
why not? 

Though surely amongst us there should be limits
for a while, so that the well can continue to give. 
Nevertheless, become an oasis for all things,
for the finite is merely a tree growing into the infinite. 

            It's true that this need for another person draws us to the one we will eventually spend the rest of our lives with. We may notice her smile, his eyes, her beauty, his wealth, her humor, his goofiness, and after we fall in love, after their hand becomes a resting place for our own, we learn even more. We learn why love songs are written, and why couples dance their hearts out to them. We learn why kissing is one of the most beautiful of human acts. We learn just how much is at stake when a heart is under threat of being broken. And we learn why people stay awake late at night thinking about that someone.

She's Everything (2009), Brad Paisley

Softer Than a Mouth

Softer Than a Mouth

So tender the eye's true vision,
softer than a mouth,
so when any look at me...
as gentle as heaven I am seen. 

For not a word is heard in the place
where benevolence reigns. 
Not a word that does not
lift a wing. 

            Maybe this is why people whisper sweet nothings, why they remember someone they love after they're gone (and no words can be spoken), and why those in love (or anyone who loves anyone) know that words can tear you down or lift you up.

Rest of post coming soon!

Don't Run And Wash Your Hands

Don't Run And Wash Your Hands

Don't run and wash your hands if the Beloved
ever offers something to you.

He knows where they have been,
out touching the Holy,
via His many forms. 

          The word, Sehnsucht, roughly translatable from German as a pleasurable yearning for some utopian thing or place is what we are all aspiring for in work. Wouldn't it be amazing to truly wake up each day and say *I'm doing what I love. I am doing what I absolutely love to do.* Remeber the Life Is Good mantra "Do what you love. Love what you do. Life is good."  

           Hafiz's mantra is a bit different, he is saying try to love what has been given to you because it has been gifted by divine appointment.

Illustration by Leslie A. Wood

It Happens All The Time In Heaven

It Happens All The Time In Heaven

It happens all the time in heaven,
and someday, 
it will begin to happen again on earth - 

that men and women who are married
and men and men who are lovers,
and women and women who give each other light, 

often will get down on their knees,
and while so tenderly holding their lover's hand,

with tear-filled eyes, will sincerely say,
"My dear, how can I be more loving to you?" 

          I love this poem! I love that Hafiz included all forms of love and lovers, which must have been difficult to do in his day. I love that because any Love that doesn't conform with a societal norm, meet parental expectations, etc. will be confronted and challenged. Hafiz is saying that love is so great and so abundant in Heaven, but one day on Earth we will again find that love triumphs and that all people are serving it as the greatest good. This is a poem about hope and the "little wonders" (see below song) between lovers while so tenderly holding hands.

Little Wonders (2009), Rob Thomas 

When A Dog Runs Up

When A Dog Runs Up

Start seeing everything as God,

but keep it a secret. 

Become like the man and woman who are

awestruck and nourished

listening to a golden nightingale sing

in a beautiful foreign language while God,

invisible to most, nests upon its tongue. 

           Do you see God in everything? From flat tires to the person you marry? If so, is this a good thing? On the one hand, it might inspire you to be more content with life, that it's God's will for you that this conversation happen or that event get cancelled. On the other hand, when disappointment strikes or blatant laziness, it might not be prudent to say it's God's will, maybe it's just human failure. Do you think we should try to strike a happy balance between the two, or are we better off believing God's hand controls everything and that he resides in all we see? 

         

Sunny Road, Emiliana Torrini