Come to the Water

Come to the Water

lyrics by Unknown

Oh let all who thirst, let them come to the water.

And let all who have nothing, let them come to the Lord.

Without money, without price

Why should you pay the price, except for the Lord.

And let all who seek, let them come to the water.

And let all who have nothing, let them come to the Lord.

Without money, without strife

Why should you spend your life, except for the Lord.

And let all who toil, let them come to the water.

And let all who are weary, let them come to the Lord.

All who labor, without rest

How can your soul find rest, except for the Lord.

And let all the poor, let them come to the water.

Bring the ones who are laden, bring them all to the Lord.

Bring the children, without might

Easy the load and light, come to the Lord.

Sometimes, sometimes often, in a life we have the feeling of being tired. Just plain tired. Our daily existence is plain and unvarying; our creative self left without outlets. Perhaps we're a bit down; our soul needs a rest. In a simple life, we might have just sat down or taken off for our heart's desire, but today's modern life has its own requirements and its own demands. We might, as did the Emperor in the story, The Emperor's New Clothes be oh, so tempted to be turned by flattery, by those who seek advantage at our expense. Yet we may choose another way, to be simply present, without money, without price. Easy the load and light; distribute your burdens to those who care and to those who give light.

Why should you spend your life, except for the Lord. There are all kinds of lords seeking our attention. Today we may leave our devotions at shopping malls, department stores and the like; only to emerge with trinkets in return. We are just tired of those things. They don't seem to last; we gain no certain peace. Earning the sums of money takes an ever consuming amount of our time and stresses us. Carefully considering what we need and what matters is a valuable way to actually enrich our lives, reduce stress and gain control of the "devotional beasts" who would seek to make their claims upon us.

My Father's Eyes

My Father's Eyes

lyrics by Eric Clapton

        Sailing down behind the sun,Waiting for my prince to come. Praying for the healing       rain  To restore my soul again. Just a toerag on the run. How did I get here? What have I done? When will all my hopes arise? How will I know him?


Refrain:
When I look in my father's eyes.
          My father's eyes.
         When I look in my father's eyes.
         My father's eyes.


Verses:
Then the light begins to shine And I hear those ancient lullabies. And as I watch this seedling grow, Feel my heart start to overflow.Where do I find the words to say? How do I teach him?
What do we play? Bit by bit, I've realized That's when I need them, That's when I need my father's eyes. My father's eyes.
That's when I need my father's eyes. My father's eyes.


Then the jagged edge appears Through the distant clouds of tears. I'm like a bridge that was washed away; My foundations were made of clay.


As my soul slides down to die. How could I lose him? What did I try?
Bit by bit, I've realized That he was here with me; I looked into my father's eyes.
My father's eyes. I looked into my father's eyes.
My father's eyes. My father's eyes. My father's eyes.
I looked into my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.

Looking into a 'father's' eyes, how often do we see that we really didn't see at all; like a "toerag on the run. how did I get here?" we wonder. In a simple way Clapton through his music and his lyrics answers the question which has occupied multitudes for eons. "Bit by bit I've realized that he was here with me." as we go about our daily activities, do we make time for what matters to us, for the possibility to hear "those ancient lullabies," as Clapton calls them? In a simple and direct way this can make our seedlings grow.

Coming to the Simple

We Are One in the Spirit
lyrics by Jason Upton

We are one in the Spirit
We are one in the Lord

We are one in the Spirit

We are one in the Lord

two of several verses:

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

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 man’s dignity

And save each man’s pride

This song often sung as a chant in meditation is so simple yet powerful as a reminder of the Oneness of life, one in spirit, one in the Lord, walking hand in hand, working side by side, saving, respecting a man's dignity. As a younger person, though, I had not yet learned this chant, nor entered into anything like it; I did come to learn of the Oneness, quite by accident.

While in college there were the required studies that every student selected from to complete their degree, no matter what their major. Many disdained these classes and I wasn't always too enthusiastic either; one semester, I was short a required study area course; already having taken art history, music literature and drama studies. Well now, what was left? There was in the catalog another course previously avoided. It was a five hour class that met every afternoon, five times a week. That meant lots of work; yet without another better alternative, I took it.

It was a survey course in the Humanities. Tons of reading, short writings and study, but quickly I came to love it. And I came to appreciate the interconnections of our lives; that in some way, somehow we are one, even if we don't always consciously recognize or see it in our own daily travels. I was hooked and have remained with a passion for humanities ever since. Humanities I can say is the study of man and his works. It was been a great good in my life to recognize everything as diverse as Chaucer and Hamlet to The Rites of Spring to the Political movements of the 20th century and the history or philosophy of antiquity have meaning and relevance still, if we can see that; I see it as a good and I am well. We cannot forget those who in the next and coming century, those in want or those in loss when we have a clear view from the past to the present. This makes a way for what comes next.

We Three Kings of Orient Are

The quest of the Magi: " who having heard the king, went their way. And behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was. And seeing the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy." --Mathew 2:9-10

We Three Kings of Orient Are

We three kings of Orient are

Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star

refrain:
O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light...

Are we not often questing, looking for something, even if we don't think carefully about it? Observing daily rhythms, noticing what brings us our centered, peaceful feelings; often it is in the process, the search or quest that we find ourselves, in simple absorption of the task. The bible story tells us that the star itself moved! Astounding if so, valuable as a symbol; it has the possibility to inspire and guide us in our daily coming and going.

One other thing: did you, like me, perhaps think the Magi were wise, noble men?
They came from the East. Were they Zoroastrians, were they Kings? What about astronomy as told in the story? The ancients of biblical times celebrated the astral glories as creations of G-d; in these glories were all others, like the glory of creation, of man himself. The response to such a moment was awe and delight. In the Book of Job, astronomy does make a pronounced appearance. But no clear or distinct identity of the Magi is given in the Torah or in the later stories of the christian bible.
And despite their obscure, true identity, their act of worship, of reverence to a new life, a small, undistinguished child,  marks them as both humble and simple; both great and wise. We follow then, that star still.

Lord of the Dance

"Dance, dance wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the Dance said he..." Lyrics by Sydney Carter, Traditional Celtic arrangement

Refrain:

Dance then, wherever you may be

I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!

And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be

And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said He!

and lead you all in the Dance, said He!

two of several verses:
I danced in the morning when the world was begun
I danced in the Moon and the Stars and the Sun
I came down from Heaven and I danced on Earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black

It's hard to dance with the devil on your back

They buried my body and they thought I'd gone

But I am the Dance and I still go on!

They cut me down and I leapt up high

I am the Life that'll never, never die!

I'll live in you if you'll live in Me -

I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!

words by Sydney Carter, music traditional

The holiday time is again near. All are dancing to the distinct rhythms of late fall into early winter. Along with the holiday time comes another season not often thought about, and yet it makes itself, oh, so clearly known.
For many of us, we come together in celebration and joy, creating memories and enlivening traditions and customs. Family. Even as we join into these festivities, we don't often realize where traditions come from.
For others, it isn't so harmonious. There seems to be, between partners and spouses in general and families in particular, traditions too, but they aren't universally shared.

Conflict is inevitable. She has to have it her way, and he has to have it his way. Why? Well, because his parents did it like that, and her parents held out another way. He is from Russia; she is American. To each these small, quaint rituals suddenly become important, and neither party wants to forgo what oddly seems to be a little part of themselves, a little part that gives them meaning.
It is a piece, however small or large of who they are. This sense of place and identity extends to where of the event(s) takes place, the food, the music, the progress, and the inclusion, or exclusion of certain others. It is a surprisingly "loaded" exchange.

It seems not so much to be among parents and their offspring, but more often between spouses, in laws and friends. Why so? Because social patterns are long developed, and long standing within the group. They resist incursion by others not originating of that group. So some who are brought into the group, bring their ideas too. In my family for example, we are of Scots-English origin.
Names like Fendlasson and Robertson populate our ancestry, and yes, their customs remain our own. In a nearly unbroken chain of oral tradition passed down and practiced by the kin group, we are still eating many of the same foods and drinking the same tea as our ancestors from long ago.
And it makes us happy. Why? Because we sense an eternal belonging to someone and something greater than just ourselves, a connection from present to past which all together leads to future. We are hopeful.

In a partnership there is a solution to the clashing of each other's sense of tradition. With respect and understanding, a family community may take their tradition literally and have newcomers join in, they may take parts of traditions and add a modern twist of their own, creating their own, unique versions and they may gain as much as the family did long ago in terms of connection and a sense of belonging.

I am not Greek, for example, however there are several Greeks married into our family. We have adjusted over the past half century to these "newcomers" of ours, and now Greek food is on the menu along with the traditional Scots-English foods, and we have adapted. The holiday is joyful and much simplified when we are able to carefully consider what matters most to each participant and find a way to greet traditions that are not originally our own.