Praying With Saint Richard of Chichester

The Prayer of Saint Richard
 
O Lord, three things I pray;

To see thee more clearly,

To love thee more dearly,

To follow thee more nearly,

Day by day.

listen here

All of us are simply unable to predict what will occur from day to day; we are most often in the position to acknowledge and to accept, day by day. Those of us who learn and develop our spiritual selves, our faith life, who live in the present moment, the most perfect moment, will find through careful attention, life in a world in which we, as one element of a symphony, if you will, are as much the actors as the re-actors.

 Today the prayer above is best known as the theme song to the rock musical, Godspell, but it was a Saint who first provided the lyics and lent his thoughts to the wisdom they encompass. 

A View from the Landscape of Time

Landscape

by King's Singers 2006

Listen here.
 

The land and its eternal relationship to time, the seasons have ordered our lives for longer than any society can recollect. As we make way for the times of the seasons, may we joyously make yet another season in time.

"We are all shaped, perhaps unconsciously, by the landscape and time in which we live. This evocative and spiritual programme, which contains five King's Singers commissions, explores the links between human life and its surroundings through the differing personal languages of poets and composers."

Landscape from the site: kingssingers.com

We are all shaped, perhaps unconsciously, by the landscape and time in which we live. This evocative and spiritual programme, which contains five King's Singers commissions, explores the links between human life and its surroundings through the differing personal languages of poets and composers. - See more at: http://www.kingssingers.com/p/cds-aand-dvds/landscape-aand-time/cd18.html#sthash.rMsWU6nH.dpuf

The King's Singers Album, Landscapes-- 2006

What Are We Doing Together, Anyway?

 Signature Of Divine

Lyrics by Needtobreathe Lyrics

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Cathedrals have tried in vain

To show the image of your face

But we are, by your design

The signature of divine

We’ll always sing your name

The fortunes of kings and queens

Are wasted chasing what we’ve seen.

Cause we are, by your reprieve,

The beauty framed by your suffering

We’ll always sing your name

Forever and today

Yahweh, Yahweh

Great is your glory when you go before me

Oh, we sing  Holy, Holy

Your ways are lovely. So high above me

Yahweh...

We gather together to work, to learn, to grow; we gather into communities, towns, universities. People everywhere, they live in groups, they live in families; they cherish their friends and they spend time together, supporting and enjoying their ways and their company. We get sick, we go to hospitals to help us recover.
What all these things have in common, with each of us in our everyday lives, is that inescapable fact that humanity, as a species, seems hard wired for gathering.

 Into groups we collect and revel. Together. It all seems so natural. Why, by working together, supporting and accomplishing worthwhile tasks, what could be better?
The person who lives stalwartly alone, who is friendless, who has very little or no community to speak of, that is a person often pitied and eyed suspiciously. We exclaim, "are they ill? Why are they such loners?"
This all makes simple sense. It seems so natural to gather, to enjoy the company of our brothers and sisters, our loves and loved here on earth.
Yet when the matter turns to things such as the lyrics of the song above, many of us recoil. Why? Well, it seems we don't belong after all. We don't want to belong. For some, reinventing the 'spiritual' wheel is okay.

In fact, it's better than okay. It may be for these persons, the only way to demonstrate their will to 'pull themselves up by the bootstraps.' Many among us think, in spiritual terms, that there are aliens around us, to be avoided at all costs.
Infected with perhaps a strong sense of humanist enlightenment, a person with such notions eschews anything of community within the context of faith.

Yet if a faith community is true, existing for a higher purpose, for the common good, then it is, it must be and it will do something. Let me say this again: Churches, mosques, temples, ashrams and so forth exist because they do something for others.
If they do not, they they exist not for long. Communities survive and thrive because of the activities of each of its constituents. What each of us contributes to the good of all, is the community.

It is this fact that escapes many in the blog-sphere. Simply talking isn't sufficient, nor are kind thoughts or nice words and graphics. Communities must do something, and religious communities continue and persist for this very simple reason!
 Join the collective, engage in acts of social justice. Learn about yourself from another's eyes.
Help a friend. Be a community. "We are, by your design, the signature of divine, and we'll always sing your name."

Be Merciful

Kind and Generous
by Nathalie Merchant
Listen Here
You've been so kind and generous
I don't know if I can give it
for your kindness, I'm in debt to you
for your selflessness, my admiration
for everything you've done, you know I'm bound
I'm bound to thank you for it...

You've been so kind and generous
I don't know if I can keep on giving
for your kindness I'm in debt to you
and I never could have come this far without you...

for everything you've done you know I'm bound
I'm bound to thank you for it...

I want to thank you for so many gifts you gave with love and tenderness
I want to thank you
I want to thank you for your generosity, the love and the honesty that you gave me...

I want to thank and show my gratitude, my love and my respect for you...

I want to thank you
I want to thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank
you...

"Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful." --Bible, Luke 6:36. We don't often experience mercy directly. It seems so out of the everydayness of life--so dramatic. And it is. Yet most all faiths and certainly, the biblical writer, Saint Luke thought about it enough to write on the subject. In most traditions, and also in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the understanding of mercy is deeply akin to the understanding of compassionate love.

A long time ago it was the experience given to me to understand this deeply for the first time, in my young, twenty-something life. I made a dear friend in college. However over time, there was a parting of the ways. A long time passed, more than 15 years, marriages and children to boot. One day while driving, the Natalie Merchant song Kind and Generous came over the radio. In my Simple Mind, I was so well taken back to that time long ago. I meditated on it many months, each time the hearing of this song set me to thought, and I thought.

Eventually I knew what it was to teach me. Now more than 18 years passed and we met again; it was a momentary oneness to my great surprise, and a gift. While I deserved less, my friend gave me more; while I deserved contempt, my friend showed compassion. From a deeply religious family, my friend learned, perhaps, long before me, that mercy is great and its loving kindness is long.
 My friend named his child after me--unbeknown to me before the day we met again. I felt then the blinding, white grace of God's mercy.

Peace to all. Be merciful, for your Lord, God is merciful.

Food and the Politics of Eating

Eat this Bread  by the Taize Community, France
CHANTED: "Eat this bread, drink this cup, come to him and never be hungry;

Eat this bread, drink this cup, trust in him and you will never thirst."

This song, a very simple chant to be sung during meditation calls our mind to a basic human need and desire, to be fed.Yet it isn't always so simple. We presume because we have enough others must too, and often they do. Except when they do not. But, doesn't the world produce more than enough to feed one and all. Well, yes it does, but no, it doesn't feed all. They call it food politics. In food politics a very complicated and messy issue becomes more obviously an issue of social justice, of equity and parity for all.

We all have a right to clean water and healthful food the world over, no matter what our status, but not all have the income or the access to obtain what they need, or they cannot produce it themselves. In my simple world there is a place in the country with a garden, an orchard, some livestock, and maybe some chickens-- all on a few acres. Producing good, organic foods for family consumption is as old as the Bible. True enough, but what if you produce food to sell your excess, or produce strictly for sale. Who do you sell to, what is their income and personal resources? Do you sell so that everyone comes to the sale on equal ground, with equal footing. Can the rich man pay the price for home grown, organic foods? Most likely he can and purchases what he chooses. Can that same seller afford to sell to the economically disadvantaged? Can they give to a monk in his begging bowl? Moreover, will the seller even consider to do this?

On a world scale, there is said to be enough land and food production to feed the world, yet millions go hungry. How can this be? Again enter food politics. Control and access to food stores is an old tool, and an ancient weapon. Political factions, party alignments, political will and might often conspire acting together, producing man-made hunger and famine. Again it's as old as the Bible. One group favors or disfavors another and in food politics, very often the losers starve. There seems to be no easy answer to a wide spread problem. And it happens in our backyard, in our town too. Everyday.

I Will Follow You; My Fears Drift Away

Follow You, Follow Me
by Collins, Banks, Rutherford, Genesis

Listen Here

Stay with me,

My love I hope you'll always be

Right here by my side if ever I need you

Oh my love

In your arms,

I feel so safe and so secure

Everyday is such a perfect day to spend

Alone with you

I will follow you will you follow me

All the days and nights that we know will be

I will stay with you will you stay with me

Just one single tear in each passing year

With the dawn,

Oh I see so very clearly now

All my fears are drifting by me so slowly now

Fading away

I can say

The night is long but you are here

Close at hand, oh I'm better for the smile you give

And while I live

I will follow you will you follow me

All the days and nights that we know will be

I will stay with you will you stay with me

Just one single tear in each passing year there will be...

The world of today is much like the ancient world in terms of believers and non-believers. There are so many who doubt others, who doubt themselves. As in the time of the Christ, many challenge with the historical facts, the seen, but do not know the ultimate dimension, the unseen. Believe and you will be free. Oh, love, follow me! I see so very clearly now; close, right at hand. Follow me; I'll follow you. Walk in love; walk in the light. The bible tells us this story about following the one we love, who loves us:

" But when they continued asking him [the Christ], he straightened up and said to them, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him.
 Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin any more."
 Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
 So the Pharisees said to him, "You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony cannot be verified."
 Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
You judge by appearances, but I do not judge anyone.
And even if I should judge, my judgment is valid, because I am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me. Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men can be verified. 
I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me." So they said to him, "Where is your father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
He spoke these words while teaching in the treasury in the temple area. But no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
 He said to them again, "I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come." So the Jews said, "He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?"
 He said to them, "You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM,  you will die in your sins."
So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "What I told you from the beginning.
 I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world..."
Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  --The Bible, the book of Saint John 8:4-23

Spirit Rising

Annie's Song

By John Denver

Listen Here

You fill up my senses

like a night in the forest

like the mountains in springtime,

like a walk in the rain

like a storm in the desert,

like a sleepy blue ocean

you fill up my senses,

come fill me again.

Come let me love you,

let me give my life to you

let me drown in your laughter,

let me die in your arms

let me lay down beside you,

let me always be with you

come let me love you,

come love me again.

This ballad has been around for a long time. It has outlived its singer-songwriter, John Denver; it has been around for most of my lifetime. It keeps on playing and we keep on listening. Why? The song most often evokes romantic love in its renditions. But is this ballad so romantic after all? The story it suggests lives on--even after the flowers and kind words are gone, divorced or died.

There is something so very appealing and enduring to it. One senses more of the eternal: eternal wishes, hopes and dreams. There are comparisons to mountains, springtime, deserts and sleepy oceans in its lyric. All these features of the natural world have been around for millions of years, more than any single lifetime. "You fill up my senses," sings Denver. Who? What?

There must be something more here. The singer writes of 'giving up my life to you;' it sounds surprisingly to my ear, at least, to resemble the story of the Bible. Followers are asked to give up what they own, come follow me. 'Come, love me again,' and again. And yes, that is very romantic, but moreover it is loving.

Jumping in

Into the Fire

 by Bruce Springsteen, the E Street Band

Listen Here

The sky was falling and streaked with blood
I heard you calling me then you disappeared into the dust
Up the stairs, into the fire
Up the stairs, into the fire
I need your kiss, but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs into the fire

Refrain:

May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love

You gave your love to see in fields of red and autumn brown
You gave your love to me and lay your young body down
Up the stairs, into the fire
Up the stairs, into the fire
I need you near but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs into the fire

It was dark, too dark to see, you held me in the light you gave
You lay your hand on me
Then walked into the darkness of your smoky grave
Somewhere up the stairs into the fire
Somewhere up the stairs into the fire
I need your kiss, but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs into the fire

May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love

May your love give us love

We all have hopes; we all dream. For some our hopes become aspirations; for others hope becomes a bitter reminder of what we do not yet possess. Springsteen writes in this song that even after the devastation, even after the fire there is still faith, hope and love. He writes it almost like a psalm: may your hope give us love; may your strength give us strength; may your faith give us faith.

What's more he writes, 'Even when it's too dark to see; you gave your love to see...' There's those beatitudes again: I was sick and you cared for me; I was weak and you held me up; I was hungry and you fed me; I was naked and you clothed me. Give me strength always to forge on--into the fire of life and of love. Amen.

Tough Times, Big and Small

Be Not Afraid
by John Michael Talbot 

Listen Here 

You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst.
You shall wander far in safety though you do not know the way.
You shall speak your words in foreign lands and all will understand.
You shall see the face of God and live. 

Refrain 

Be not afraid.
I go before you always.
Come follow me, and
I will give you rest.

If you pass through raging waters in the sea, you shall not drown.
If you walk amid the burning flames, you shall not be harmed.
If you stand before the pow'r of hell and death is at your side, know that
I am with you through it all.

Blessed are your poor, for the kingdom shall be theirs.
Blest are you that weep and mourn, for one day you shall laugh.
And if wicked men insult and hate you all because of me, blessed, blessed are you...

In every life there are the tough times, some large problems and some small; how each of us responds is the same, and then it's different. We can have empathy for others because we recognize their struggle--because we have struggled too. We can understand because we are similarly confronted by life's challenges too. And we can respond similarly or differently because of what we know, what our experiences have been and how we see our self in the context of the larger world.

Sometimes, it seems that the greater challenges are actually the little ones. They come upon us quietly, ever so quietly. We hardly notice them at first. Over time they gain strength and focus, forcing us to pay attention, because attention is well, just that, attention. Now in clear focus, will we regard the difficulties and uncertainty in the light of the world as it is, or will we continue to retreat, to hide behind so many 'reasons' and our weaknesses? Will we continue to say 'no', or will no change to a yes. God wants, demands the best part of us. The Lord it seems, most often seeks and wants, most of all, our 'yeses'.

Follow Me

Follow You, Follow Me

by Collins, Banks, Rutherford, Genesis

Listen Here

Stay with me,

My love I hope you'll always be

Right here by my side if ever I need you

Oh my love

In your arms,

I feel so safe and so secure

Everyday is such a perfect day to spend

Alone with you

I will follow you will you follow me

All the days and nights that we know will be

I will stay with you will you stay with me

Just one single tear in each passing year

With the dawn,

Oh I see so very clearly now

All my fears are drifting by me so slowly now

Fading away

I can say

The night is long but you are here

Close at hand, oh I'm better for the smile you give

And while I live

I will follow you will you follow me

All the days and nights that we know will be

I will stay with you will you stay with me

Just one single tear in each passing year there will be...

" But when they continued asking him [the Christ], he straightened up and said to them, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him.
 Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin any more."
 Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
 So the Pharisees said to him, "You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony cannot be verified."
 Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
You judge by appearances, but I do not judge anyone.
And even if I should judge, my judgment is valid, because I am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me. Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men can be verified. 
I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me." So they said to him, "Where is your father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
He spoke these words while teaching in the treasury in the temple area. But no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
 He said to them again, "I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come." So the Jews said, "He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?"
 He said to them, "You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM,  you will die in your sins."
So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "What I told you from the beginning.
 I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world..."
Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  --The Bible, the book of Saint John 8:4-23

The world of today is much like the ancient world in terms of believers and non-believers. There are so many who doubt others, who doubt themselves. As in the time of the Christ, many challenge with the historical facts, the seen, but do not know the ultimate dimension, the unseen. Believe and you will be free.

Taking Refuge

One Bread, One Body

by John Foley

Listen Here 

Refrain: 

One bread, one body, one Lord of all
One cup of blessing which we bless
And we though many, throughout the earth
We are one body in this one Lord.
 Verses:

Gentile or Jew, servant or free
Woman or man no more.

Many the gifts, many the works
One in the Lord of all.

 Grain for the fields, scattered and grown
Gathered to one, for all.

For some, the words of the song are new; for others it's a favorite. For all, it expresses the idea of taking refuge in the Christ, the one begot by God for all of mankind to share in salvation, or holiness. The three jewels, if you will, for Christians are faith, hope and charity. The greatest of these however is charity, or caritas in Latin. It translates most simply to mean love.

The food upon which the faithful feast is love, divine love. The water they drink ends their thirst for all time. Their growing awareness of reality as expressed in the Psalm is light and clarity. Kindness and compassion guide the believer to paths which are gentle and unperturbed by pride, angst or wickedness. The song they sing is many; it is one. One bread for all, one body existing in this one Lord.

Another Day

Another day in Paradise

by Phil Collins, Genesis

Listen Here

She calls out to the man on the street
"Sir, can you help me?
It's cold and I've nowhere to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?"

He walks on, doesn't look back
He pretends he can't hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there

Oh think twice, it's another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh think twice, it's just another day for you,
You and me in paradise

She calls out to the man on the street
He can see she's been crying
She's got blisters on the soles of her feet
Can't walk but she's trying

Oh think twice...

Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do
Oh lord, there must be something you can say

You can tell from the lines on her face
You can see that she's been there
Probably been moved on from every place
'Cos she didn't fit in there

Oh think twice... 

Religion is a way into spirituality. Some decry its very existence. They are opposed to all "organized" religions. Do they, these persons, think in their thoughts about the possibility that the form of a religion may actually be a path, a way into the world many call "paradise"?

You Are Beautiful

Lord, you're beautiful

by Rebecca St. James

Lord, you're beautiful

Your face is all that I seek

For when your eyes are on this child

Your grace abounds to me...

Lord please light the lamp

that once burned bright and clear

Replace the lamp of my first love

That burns with holy fear...

I can see your face now

I can feel your grace now

It's all I seek.

A life devoted to clearer seeing and compassionate action is one which is respectful of the dignity of other lives, life in all its forms and variations. Through the eyes of the believer, love, all love is a gift from God. In regarding others, one may know them by their love, by the fruits of their actions; all are encouraged to choose, to seek freely. The world is created for all Creation living under the same great blue skies.

Love, Stronger Than Pride

Love Stronger Than Pride

by Sade Adu, 1988

Listen Here

I still really love you

Love is stronger than pride

I still really love you

`Sitting here wasting my time

would be like

waiting for the sun to rise

It's all too clear

things come and go

Sitting here waiting for you

would be like waiting for winter

It's gonna be cold

There may even

be snow
 
I still really love you

Love is stronger than pride...

Nothing Can Come Between Us
by Sade Adu, 1988
Listen Here

Always hope you'll remember
We'll never really learn the meaning of it all
What we have is strong and tender
So hold on...


Hold on
It truly is a good thing
And I always wanted you
to know...
It's ever lasting...


It's about faith
It's about trust

For those who choose to remain in the way of faith, conventional wisdom in the light appears foolish; the opposite may, however, also be true: in the glare of conventional wisdom, the love story that is the Christ becomes foolishness. Most people live conventional lives. They do not see a role as artists, seers or poets; they do not heed a call as co-Creators. Accepting this as our role, we, as it is said, 'take up our cross', living a life that is quite often counter cultural. It is a life that values creation and all things made, natural to the world; a life of love and spirit. The disciple John writes, "Do not work for the food that perishes." (John 6:27)

So like the words written above by the artist Sade, where we find our heart, there is where our treasures lie. Intimately, the words direct us perhaps to another place, one not originally intended, but still we arrive-- and it is the right place-- even if we had not known it before. Sometimes, we're just obstinate, until faith intervenes. We are reminded that in love we do, we really do live in a community. There is someone nearby to ask, to call, to rely upon.

Yet to receive, we need to ask and to ask exposes us as part of a community. If we seek only to receive and not to give, "sitting here waiting for you... wasting my time..." because you will not, or perhaps refuse to, ever return the gift, then the words of the Christ would have a very different meaning. A gift would not be a gift. Who would there be to receive it? Who would have gifts at all? Only when givers are also willing to be receivers does the community come alive; only then does the community animate with faith, with love, with trust. I still really love you. Love is stronger than pride.

It's a Gift To Be Simple...

So go the words of the old American Shaker tune, Simple Gifts, written in 1848 by Shaker elder, Joseph Brackett:


'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.When true simplicity is gain'd, To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd, To turn, turn will be our delight, Till by turning, turning we come round right.

The song is described as a dancing song, or a quick song; however I sometimes hear this song in my mind. It comes to me, lighting my way, the simple way, the dharma way into a practice of no practice; the willingness to just be is how it seems to me. *


*this article apeared here previously, December 2009

People Asking Why?

Why?

  by Seal

LISTEN HERE

Why, am I changing?

Why do people, get complacent with the things they're told?

World disasters they come and go.

I'd give anything just to be back home.

Cause there are people, asking why.

There are people, who believe in...

In life, gets confusing but I don't know why.

But I've made my plans already.

Had this trouble with it all my life.

Well world disasters, they come and go.

I'd give all my strength to be back home

Cause there are people, asking why

There are people asking...

How do I get to where I've come from, now?

How will I paint this garden I've destroyed, green?

Can I get back to where I've come from?

Cause there are people, who believe in life.

Well how do we get to where we come from?

Peace and love ain't enough these days.

Evolution says time is running out,

We've been here too long..."

Cause there are people, asking why

Ohh, there are people, asking...

How do I get to where I've come from, now?

How will I paint this garden I've destroyed, green?

Can I get back to where I come from?

Cause there are people, who believe it.

How do I get to where I've come from, now?

How do I paint this garden I've destroyed, green?

Can I get back to where I've come from?

additional lyrics.....

Over the years I've hear this song many times; sometimes it has inspired me to reflect on its themes. One is the proverbial 'why.' Another is about the world and the industrial-technological complexity in which we live; it spawns a great deal of waste. Far more 'carbon' than any of us could ever hope to produce individually. We all want our gadgets, things like cell phones, cars, TV, fridges and a nice cozy home to come to, be it cool in summer or warm in winter, and we do it en masse. All of us are guilty, even the finger pointer. They may be the most guilty as 'he who accuses, accuses himself first and most.'

Then there is the most intriguing message, to me at least. It is the question that asks, "How will I paint this garden I've destroyed green?" This question easily and potently is about a person and their personal life. We all make mistakes, we all have been known to blunder at times, even in anger to seek retribution. In the process we focus on the other guy; most often we fail to see that it isn't only his garden we destroy, but our own as well. Mud flies everywhere and everyone is dirtied by it. Now, how to make green again that I've destroyed?

Love Simple

Simple

by K.D. Laing

LISTEN HERE

Flawless light in a darkening air
Alone...and shining there
Love will not elude you

Love is simple
I worship this tenacity
And the beautiful struggle we're in

Love will not elude us
Love is simple
Be sure to know that
All in love Is ours

And love, as a philosophy
Is simple
I am calm in oblivion
Calm, as I ever have been

Love will not elude me
Love is simple
Be sure to know that
All in love

Is ours... Is ours...
That all in love
Is ours

And love, as philosophy
Is simple...
And ours...

Love is simple, as a philosophy so the song goes;

 the one who sings, sings it with a voice most beautiful.
Building a civilization of love, its beautiful struggle and its tenacity.

Love endures, we are often told.
It remains, exists, calm in oblivion as never before.
There is certainty in love.
Yet this sense of the certain, the possible, is a freedom.

Be sure to know that all love, in the civilization of love, is ours.
It's simple and free, acting upon one's will and so it remains.
There is no cage, no jailer to contain the beloved.

Indeed it is too big to contain. The civilization founded all in love may contain struggles,
it may contain simple knowledge.
Freedom in a flawless light amid a darkening sky. 

A love too big to contain.

Moon Shadows Light the Sky

Moon Shadow

 by Cat Stevens
Listen Here

Yes, I'm being followed

By a moon shadow
Moon shadow moon shadow
Leaping and hopping
On a moon shadow
Moon shadow moon shadow

And if I ever lose my hands
Lose my plow, lose my land
Oh, if I ever lose my hands
Oh, if...
I won't have to work no more

And if I ever lose my eyes
If my colors all run dry
Yes, if I ever lose my eyes
Oh, if...
I won't have to cry no more

Yes, I'm being followed
By a moon shadow
Moon shadow moon shadow
Leaping and hopping
On a moon shadow
Moon shadow moon shadow

And if I ever lose my legs
I won't moan and I won't beg
Oh if I ever lose my legs
Oh if...
I won't have to walk no more

And if I ever lose my mouth
All my teeth, north and south
Yes, if I ever lose my mouth
Oh if...
I won't have to talk...

Did it take long to find me
I asked the faithful light
Did it take long to find me
And are you going to stay
The night?

I'm being followed
By a moon shadow
Moon shadow moon shadow
Leaping and hopping
On a moon shadow
Moon shadow moon shadow

Moon shadow moon shadow
Moon shadow moon shadow

The composer of this song and lyrics, Cat Stevens is reported to have said that he wrote this song because as a child in London he never saw such a sight. "I was on the edge of the water on a beautiful night with the moon glowing, and suddenly I looked down and saw my shadow. I thought that was so cool, I'd never seen it before." Many others have heard this song in the more than 30 years since it first was created and have attributed spiritual and metaphorical meanings to it.

His song, and others he wrote and performed, seem to address universal themes of  longing, love, the search for truth in life; his vocal style underscores a sense of soul, a commitment to spirit. Falling ill to Tuberculosis as a young man, his thoughts turned to eastern philosophies. Through the time of his convalescence, he felt as if a child once more. He had been cured of his illness and was free to live his life in a way he had not before, with a child-like innocence. Finally finding what he was looking for, his craftmanship and musical ability no longer pleased him; he turned his thoughts to God.

Words

They'll Know We Are Christians
Lyrics by Carolyn Arends

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

By our love, by our love

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
By our love, by our love
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

And they will know us by our love, our words, indeed. In this modern age, sometimes we don't recognize the true, clear, importance of our words to those around us, and those far away. We fail to acknowledge that our words, the words of others do, still do have meaning. Words like: 'I hate you!'; 'I love you!'; 'I have cancer.'; 'They were killed last year.'; 'His mother is dying.'; 'I'm terrified.' The one thing all these phrases have, no matter the language or context in which they occur, comes down to one thing: there is power in the name, a name, a noun and a verb. Countries commence war on words; they make peace on treaties with words. Babies are born; people announce marriages and deaths, and just about anything else you can think of, with nothing less than words.

Well now, what about 'non-verbal' communications, or para-normal intuition? Well, what about it? The words the concepts, phrases and images contained within all meta-communications are no more or less than spoken words. The study within Linguistics which considers this type of communication, sign and symbol, is called Semiotics. Semiotics is keenly interested in the exchange of value for value, be it originating in explicit or implicit communications.

Intellect aside, all of us deep down know that words do have value; there is power in a name. How we know is by simple, experience. From earliest childhood we learn that there are actions and reactions, behavior and consequences for which we may be rewarded or punished. Words, and other human communication plays a central role in this realization. Children learn that what they say can bring great recognition. Adults know this too, sometimes all too well. How is it then, that some adults, some who write for audiences not cleanly identified, maybe in cyberspace, or in public speaking to a group say things they later deny, or say that they did not mean?

Now, do they suppose they are anonymous, they personally cannot matter; their words are without relevance? Now comes time for the Fall. Words do matter, always. They matter to some body. Sometimes they matter to a lot of somebodies. They mattered to a lot of people in ancient Rome; they mattered to the One whom this song recollects -- 2,000 years later. Poets touch our hearts, sometimes thousands of years after their words were first spoken or written. Do not suppose that words are without consequence. Or that yours aren't either.

Take the word 'Christian' out of the song above. Instead of that word 'christian', insert your own name please, and read it again. Better yet, locate a recording of this song. Listen a few times. Let it sink into your brain that your name is in that song too, so is your faith, where ever it may be.

The Times in Our Lives

The Prayer of Saint Francis

Lyrics by Sarah Mclachlan and 

various others, especially Saint Francis of Assisi 

 Lord make me an instrument of your peace

Where there is hatred let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

And where there is sadness, joy.

O divine master grant that I may

not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love

For it is in giving that we receive-

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.

And it's in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen

There are times in our lives when we realize that a 'one size fits all,' whether we are One or not, just isn't fitting. Ultimately, despite our human communities, each of us, created with a bit of the divine spark, also receives a bit like no other, and it is to this, as well as to the divine, we pay our respects. All creatures of the earth, great and small are given a life to live as is fitting to their species; yet man is given a mind unknown in any of the others. He thinks, posits, conceives, constructs and destructs, all within his own mind. We think first to ourselves before we do to any other.


In this world, all living under a great blue sky, swirling around us, are great movements, movements of mind if you will. Some of these movements have posited that man, in particular, is to lead a sort of 'zero sum life,' taking no more at his leaving than at his entrance to the world. Persons of this thinking suppose that it is the species, man, which wrecks or destroys for all other species, thus it behooves us to engage in this zero sum prospect, sometimes referred to in terms of "carbon footprints" or "green movements". They betray little confidence in the living, breathing, earth herself.

True we, as the creatures of earth and sky, mankind, is bound to observe the earth, its natural seasons and rhythms, to engage in stewardship, care-taking of all life. Earth is sustenance; it is the air we breath and the food we eat. Our entrance and exit are without any parallel timing. It all seems so random. Leave it then to men with intellect to devise a wholly rational systemology for what may truly be an irrational world. A number which follows no rules. And then to give it our names, our descriptions of what may not be describable. In the Dharmakaya, the great intelligence-mind of the world, we learn that mental forms and rationalizations, clinging to ideas, rather than accepting what we may not be able to make different or influence, leads to grief. Impermanence, we are taught, is the normal course of this world. Pray for impermanence.

In times of grief, of illness, of disaster, of adversity, we are challenged. Our tidy mental machinations may do us no good. As the Bible tells us, we know not the time, or the season that will be ours, when the Master will call. The Master calls for each of us truly to have and take as we need, and not as we want. The demonization of real, true, individual, human needs by the postulants of human carbon, waste and destruction, rob us of what we are given, one and all under the great blue sky.

It is then perhaps more important for each one to learn what those needs are and to serve them, rather than the wants of this world, the powerful of this world, the possessing. When this is done, each person may experience the beauty and blessing of a world, in which as one element in creation, there exists a symphony of the whole. Engage in acts which do no further harm. Tend to the earth as a child. Plant a tree; plant many trees, give way to causes which are filled with the Spirit of Love; eschew the mongers, the haters and those who plan for your doom. They may be, in truth, the evils of our world.