What You Really Want

What You Really Want

There is not a waking moment that you are
not trying to savior what you have,
or get closer to what will bring you pleasure. 

Being so preoccupied as we are with needing to be
satisfied, it seems we would be better at it by now: 

that happiness would be our norm, not a rare event. 

No heart can make love to its source
and then can turn its back on the Truth of your destiny
which is -

someday you will never know pain
you will never know loneliness
you will never know sorrow 

instead, you will be the very fountainhead
of all dance, all laughter,
all Light. 

       Today I turned 22, it was great! I love this poem because it is sooooo positive and so hopeful. It transports you to another world, and that's exactly what good poetry, art, and literature should do. Poetry (and life for that matter) is about creating words (moments) that touch you, that challenge you, and that encourage you. I am so grateful for another year!
       I chose to go to Eastern State Penitentiary for my birthday and it was great! I highly recommend the "3D Experiment" section of the haunted house. It was fairly sunny out today, no rain, and I thought as we drove into Philadelphia of the e.e. cummings line: "peering from some high window; at the gold of November sunset (and feeling: that if day has to become night this is a beautiful way)".

Celebrating at Hickory Lane Bistro

Rising Up Like a Thousand Suns

In my world all that remains is the wondrous call to dance and prayer, rising up like a thousand suns, out of the mouth of a single bird. 

      Wouldn't it be interesting if everyone lived with God as the focal point of their lives? And all that remained was this joy, this triumph...and all of it, every last drop, from the mouth of a single bird, since that's what loving God first gives you - everything. Yet, we acknowledge, and quite regularly, how difficult that is to do. How difficult it is to completely surrender our human concerns, our annoyances, our grievances, and just dance and praise. For most it is impossible, but I am convinced for the certain souls capable of achieving this, it is probably like receiving the light of a thousand suns.

A Thousand Suns, Crooty on DeviantArt

His Gratitude Was Speechless

His gratitude was speechless, his eyes shone like two planets making love.

         Have you ever had a moment in which your gratitude towards another person really could not find the words? Have you ever felt the need to fall on your knees in thanks?

On The Road To Jericho, Keith Green 

Invisible Thoughts

How is it that invisible thoughts can lift heavy matter and build cities and armies and altars? 


      Contemplate this today, the day we remember the lives taken too soon in the World Trade Center attack of September 11, 2001. Extend kindness to others, do "good works" before you're asked, and live with gratitude.

Annual memorial lights of the Twin Tours 

Lasting Good

What lasting good has ever been rushed?

             Dictionary.com defines wealth in a multitude of ways, but one of those ways is:

wealth (n): an abundance or profusion of anything; a plentiful amount; rich or valuable contents

        I've thought of wealth in many ways, the obvious monetary wealth, and then there is love, knowledge, experience, physical health, mental health, spiritual health, etc. Today, for the first time ever, someone suggested to me the wealth of...time. I've always thought of time as a gift, but I like that I can now include it as one of the ways to be wealthy. 

There Goes My Life (2004), Kenny Chesney

The Experience of God

The experience of God can so easily deepen and change. 

          This is so true, our relationship with God (and it should be a relationship) will evolve, change, grow, deepen, and be born anew. We will bring to the table the fellow believers we meet as well as the ones who challenge our beliefs. We will bring to the table the moments we felt close to God and the moments we felt terribly in this world. In doing these things, in living this life, we can only expect our experience of God to be different than when we started out, but God has been sovereign, working in our hearts throughout.

      I found this on the blog, Desiring God: "And the reality is, even if you don’t have a formal, written life plan, you have a life plan in your head. We all do. You have an imagined future in your head. You want to have a family, have kids, get a college degree, start a business, travel to Europe, etc. You get the point. I don’t have a formally stated life plan, but I want to accomplish certain things. I want to attain a certain level of comfort and stability for me and my family. I want my life to actually mean something. To reference a well-known author who seems to get quoted a lot on this site, I don’t want to waste my life. Now don’t get me wrong: I’m all for planning. Without plans, little of enduring value gets accomplished. Those who fail to plan, often find themselves binge watching on Netflix. But the reality is, there are many times when God intentionally messes up my life plan. And that’s a really good thing." 

He Knows My Name (2014), Francesca Battistelli

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 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)