The Shape of Color

The Shape of Color

The shape of the night,
the shape of the day,
the shape of color, 
the shape os us.
What holds all this? 

Who made this miraculous mold
and then too, cast everything? 

Imagine the form that poured all forms,
that whittles from a single thought 
that took over the Inconceivable. 

What can entwine all this in his arms? 
The one some call God. 

          I love the song "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin so much! It's just an incredibly energizing song about how great God is, but also how we should really marvel at creation, and that includes ourselves. As Rumi said, “Study me as much as you like, you will never know me, for I differ a hundred ways from what you see me to be. Put yourself behind my eyes, and see me as I see myself, for I have chosen to dwell in a place you cannot see.”
         The song is below, but some of my favorite lyrics are:

"From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea

Creation's revealing Your majesty

From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring

Every creature unique in the song that it sings..,

Indescribable, uncontainable,

You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name...

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go

Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow

Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light..."

Indescribable, Chris Tomlin

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

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

All Shape Would Collapse

All Shape Would Collapse 

How many times a paw touched the earth today
I know. I watched and counted them 
and almost lost my mind in ectasy. 

The body of everything I became 
and now am when God and I 
kissed so deeply one night. 

Anything's hunt for food I know, I share.
Your breathing draws me in and out.
All beings' joys and fears I comprehend. 

Something we call God I move with.
Without me all shape would collapse. 
It is true I hold you up. 

Existence's cane is my love. 
If I were summoned to a court 
and accused of being deluded, 

I could supply all the evidence needed
to show all I say is not false. 
and so could you, inside your soul. 

                       Hafiz was a spiritual soul who could really envision his own likeness in every creature. This is a powerful trait few are capable of. Last night, my sister shared the following quote with me, and it made me think that perhaps we don't even comprehend our own likeness as well as we should: "You have only seen yourself two times, taking a picture and looking at the image and staring in the mirror and looking at your reflection. You don't get to see the way your eyes light up when you talk about something you love. You can never see how beautiful you look when you spontaneously smile. You never witness the in-between moments that make me love you. Yes, it's really kind of sad, that you've never actually seen yourself."

Saints Bowing In The Mountains

Saints Bowing In The Mountains

Do you know how beautiful you are?

I think not, my dear. For as you talk,

I see great parades with colorful bands streaming

from your mind and heart,

carrying wonderful and secret messages

to every corner of this world.

I see saints bowing in the mountains,

hundreds of miles away,

to the wonder of sounds that break into light

from your most common words.

Speak to me of your mother, your father,

your cousins, your friends.

Tell me of animals and how the wind blows.

Awaken your legion of wings –

let them soar wild and free in the sky

and begin to sing to God.

Do you know how beautiful you are?

I think not, my dear.

            I think woman need to be reminded of this, how beautiful they are. Believing that you’re good-looking doesn’t make you a great candidate for love, but the confidence that comes from believing that you’re a charming, pleasant, and enchanting person with lots to offer does. Understanding the overwhelming magnitude of your own worth, what Hafiz describes as an inner light that can be worshipped hundreds of miles away, makes you beautiful. Yes, attractive and lovable. Women need to be told this more, men too. In fact, everyone should exalt the unique aura they bring to this world. 

So You Can Plant More Wheat

So You Can Plant More Wheat

I would like to remove some rocks from your

field so that you can plant more wheat.

And those hills that I see that are part of you,

I have some trees in mind for them

and flowering grasses, so that you won’t erode

when the elements pour.

Are we not lovers? Cannot I speak to you like

this?

Do I need to ask your permission to hitch up

my ox and sing to him as I improve your vast

terrain?

The title to your heart came to my office. In

looking at it a great interest in your soul

developed. The care of your soul became mine.

So I would like to remove some stones from

your meadows; then an orchard you could grow,

and the world, and the world then, will come

to taste your riches.

            Have you ever considered Love to be akin to tending a garden in another’s soul? I hadn’t until I read this poem. Now I can envision myself planting roses for beauty and evergreens for protection in the heart of another.

            When I was a young child, my mother used to read me the book, The Giving Tree. It is a story about selfless love. Some say between mother and child, God and mankind, or two friends. Regardless of what interpretation appeals to you, could you help another grow by giving so much of yourself?  

A Potted Plant

A Potted Plant 

I pull a sun from my coin purse each day.
And at night I let my pet, the moon,
run freely into the sky meadow.

If I whistled,
she would turn her head and look at me.

If I then waved my arms,
she would come back wagging a marvelous tail
of stars.

There are always a few men like me
in this world

who are house-sitting for God.

We share His royal duties: 

I water each day a favorite potted plant
of His –
this earth.

Ask for love.
Ask again.

For I have learned that every heart will get
what it prays for
most.


          Like Hafiz does with his relationship with God, we too must water our relationship, tend to the seedling, watch the plant grow. I always wonder what makes people stay together long term. What makes someone stay with someone despite distance? How about significant age gaps? Through illness? Through financial difficulty? Of course, I’m now pointing out the glaring “abnormalities” that come with some relationships, but just knowing you feel THAT strongly about someone is pretty special. 

          How do people get the recipe just right when it comes to love? Do you just know? And if you do, how do you know if a relationship is forever or just the best you’ve had to date? And even if it is the best you’ve had to date, does that mean it should be the forever one? I’ve wondered about this many of times, but I am no closer to the answer. Relationships are complicated, often precarious, things. Perhaps all we can do is ask for love, then ask again. If the reply is a mutual yes, maybe that’s the answer.

        I really enjoy the poetic majesty of Florence and The Machine's All This and Heaven Too, a song that yearns to find out exactly what love is. 

What Holds Us Captive

What Holds Us Captive

Look at the sweetness of their play, those
lion cubs. Look at part of Beauty’s beauty,

it holds us captive to what delights.
All those paws in a dancing motion, they
are a blessing to my eye.

It should be like this; all that can open the
heart in heaven…can be found on Earth.

Love reveals the paradise.

             Happy November! This month will be devoted to Hafiz on Love. Daniel Ladinsky, considered to be the living authority on Hafiz, says of Hafiz’s poetry: “May something in them touch you as only a real lover and friend can.” I think you will be able to find that in this month’s readings. 

             I chose this poem as my opener for the last line: “Love reveals the paradise.” I am particularly attracted to this line because it is succinct, yet nonspecific. Hafiz does not specify the type of love nor the vision of paradise. This is powerful because it means YOU can. I hope you enjoy Hafiz’s love poems and that you are always in the presence of Love that holds you captive to delight.