empower

empower yourselves...give yourself permission to love yourself, to cherish your humanity...
teach our children this love so that when they move out into the world, they can face any situation...
build your self esteem, know that you are Divine...
by your example, lead our children to hold themselves in high esteem...
this way, they will turn away from those who would profess false love, those who would cheat and lie to them...
teach them their value as human beings, allow them to see your eyes light up when they come into the room...
know that by doing these things, you are changing the world...and you are living righteously...
it isn't necessary to do big things, it isn't necessary to receive thanks for your deeds...
the simplest of actions trigger an invisible wave that stretches outward into the world...
live your life with honor, love and respect...feel the joy and gratitude for who you are, what you have...
regardless of our skin color, our ethnicity, our religion, our class...regardless of these differences...
we aren't so very different...fundamentally...
what is fundamentally the same is the light that shines within us...this light is what makes us all brothers and sisters,
this Divine spiritual force that resides inside us all...
all the rest is just noise, agreed upon standards that weren't always there...
to look at a black man and write him off simply due to his color, this is not Divine, therefore it is a false way to live...
to say to a woman that she must cover her face, this is not Divine, therefore it is false...
anything or anyone who would put down another speaks not from his or her soul but rather,
they speak from a place of fear, they have forgotten their own spiritual Divinity...
we must offer forth the grace of forgiveness not just to these people but to ourselves, for all of us have
succumbed once or twice to this fear...some have made a life of following this falsity...
they aren't happy...
let us teach our children to look outside of societal mores that do nothing in the way of empowerment, hence,
they do nothing to honor humanity and nothing to honor God...
let us honor God...
let us honor ourselves...

yo...

hey...knock knock...you...look at me...no,
LOOK at me...don't you see me? don't you feel me?
man...at least don't you feel that crazy tingly feeling one feels
when someone is longing for them?
wow...you don't do you...
yo...knock knock...i am woman...

and you are a man whose heart is guarded...
blind and dense to what is right in front of you...

right in front of you...

my timing is...impeccable...

who made up these freakin rules?!

we send our kids to school so they can learn the basics; reading, writing, arithmetic and...compliance....the rules of society, agreed upon by the many and to hell with the few who may have stood outside the box just long enough to say, "whoa....wait a minute....that's not going to work....", that guy was either labeled eccentric and tolerated or, straight up put down...put away, done away with....well, now what's happening? yeah...that's right....it's not working....and it's becoming all too clear that something must be done...but, to step out of the way "it's always been" is an almost physical battle...when your paradigm is all you've ever known or all you can remember, to step around that wall is a committment to change many are simply too frightened to committ to...
i want that change...i want it so bad i can taste it....that's not to say i'm not scared...i'm scared to death....but i want it nonetheless....i want to know what it's like to live, really, really live....i want to do away with the noise that threatens my wakefulness...i want the core of life to be all that i am, on every level....to stand on that mountaintop and feel the cold wind on my skin, breathe in my freedom as i let go of all that i have....all the "stuff" i've hung onto for so long...i want to spread my arms as though i could fly and i want to feel the full force of it all...to let go and become a part of it all...to know that i am not separate from all that is...that my identity is simply another agreement i've taken on...that is all...who i am is something much deeper...
this way of thinking....this realization wakes in me (again) a respect for everyone i come across...the connection is all that is, all that truly matters and a constant second only to the fact that everything changes....even identities....my compassion grows for the one who i would normally be bothered by...he is a gift....a way to wake me up from this dream....
yeah....wake up....realize that "this" is simply an agreement....it is not reality....look around you....most of it is not reality....decide for yourself to live....LIVE...

Where I See Myself

i am sitting on a beach, legs are crossed...the sun is setting and i am alone...the sand is warm still and feels good on my legs...i look out at the ocean and watch the sun's rays play across the water...i am calm as the tide moves in and out in front of me...in this moment, i am all that i am destined to be...i have all that i need...i realize that this has always been true...a lifetime of struggle is shrugged away as i accept the truth that, everything is as it should be...i run my hand through my hair and pull my knees up to my chin...the little girl in me sits on the edge of my consciousness...she has come to let me know that i am a child still...that, when all the layers of life are peeled away and all my pain is released...i remain full of wonder and excitement at what there is to learn....not what there is to have but...learn...my story can be changed...i can make it up as i go...nothing is predestined...it is all merely an experience...when we go back to the childlike in us, to the innocense that we emanated when we first arrived, we look at the world with fresh eyes and we can let go of the stories we've written...stories that clouded our vision...we are enlightened and with this comes empowerment...the quiet, peaceful, strong kind of empowerment that seeks to prove nothing...it just is...

this is where i see myself...

The Time Is At Hand

She stood at the fence quietly surveying the scene before her...armed guards holding back the surge of people fleeing death, poverty, oppression. She noted the arrogance of the soldiers as hoses were lifted to spray at the screaming crowd...again. Mothers shielded their children, fathers stood defiant against the torrent of water. She felt a sense of deep loss standing there, just far enough way to feel only a few drops...the lack of compassion complete, no sense of humanity was evident as soldiers followed their orders and families followed their needs. Whole communities had been torn asunder as the power wielding few destroyed what was once...great. What had been lost was a concept deeply buried under
apathetic self pity...the comformist's web had been spun and freedom's very essence had been bled dry. Even the soldiers had been blinded...their souls pushed deep into wells of self righteous ignorance. The power of many, when gathered and organized, is as strong as steel and a thing to be reckonded with...but...for the power of many to be realized there must come an awakening...a rising of indignation and a demand that changes must be made...will be made. She knew this as she quietly stood watching her people; black, white, brown, yellow and red. She remembered what once was and was again stricken by a deep sadness...oh, if only they would stop fighting...if only they would learn to fight as warriors rather than victims caught in a mess of angry self reproach. She stepped back from the fence and climbed a hill to sit again under a high oak tree. She waited for the children to gather and then began telling the stories of days gone by. She knew that in these children a spark would light and a longing would grow...dignity and grace, which is present in us all, would stand strong again in their hearts and minds and the fighting would be replaced by the quiet certainty that freedom was the one thing belonging to them all...a birthright that would once again reign supreme over any greed for power, money or prestige. The time is at hand...the fighting will end, the awakening will be complete. And it will be in the hands and the hearts of our children.

sky...

so many skies...each one so different...
from the wide expanse of a desert sky over Arizona...
or the unsure blue-gray over Colorado...
South Carolina with clouds full to overflowing, monsoon bringin with it the smell of rain...
or Spain's beautiful blue that stirs in me memories not my own but, a part of me always...
Washington's sky would drizzle one day and dazzle the next, the rain a constant...catalyst to so much green...
California's summer night, a midnight blue...perfect for walking down low lit beaches...kisses by the sea...
each one so different...each having it's place in my mind's eye...

sing out...

sing out...sing the song that is you and sing loud...fleeting is the desire to be, yet be you must...be real, be you...i am aching inside...i watch the world around me, i watch my brothers and sisters lay to waste their sacredness, i mourn the unnecessary angst...hatred borne from fear...fear of what? how can we be so afraid of each other? we walk this world as though our stories are real...we carry our scripts to hide our faces so that we can fade away into nothingness...never living, never honoring ourselves, much less each other...yet, and i strive to be as they, there are those individuals who raise their eyes and look deep into the facade...they strip away the mask and lovingly reach out to any and all...there is no one beneath them...they, these wise souls, have seen the light and live out their lives extending the mirror to the world around them...the light they have seen, it is not in some long lost story...it is not in some unreachable corner of the world hidden as though a treasure to be sought far and wide for...no...this light though hidden it would seem is just within reach...it is within...look into this light, i ask thee, my fellow lost soul, look into this light and rest your Spirit...let your light shine...shine bright, let your voice be heard and sing loud, reach out and take hold of each other...only then will freedom's lost place in this world be found...

she's got her own mind

all of 12 goin on 25...
she's my right hand...
stepped up to the plate when the men i chose couldn't/wouldn't...
life's been unfair to her before she had a chance to know the difference...
guilt racks my soul...she forgives me...i haven't forgiven m'self...
she speaks her mind, too much like i was/am...
we butt heads, stubborn to the core...
my beautiful first born...i love this kid so much...
no one has the power to make me as angry...or fill me with as much pride....
when all i remember is being told i didn't matter...
how do i see past this to teach her that she does?
so damn tired...so damn determined, nonetheless...
i am her mother...i can and will do right by her...
but...sometimes...it's too much...so tired...
want this life to calm down...even out...so i can focus...
give her...and my other daughters, what they deserve...
a mother who is there for them....
but...sometimes....this mother would like...if only for a little while...
someone to be there for her...

she made a choice

she stood quietly at the back of the room...no one knew she'd entered...
she listened to her family discuss her latest choice...her latest endeavor...
she heard the reproach in their voices, the disappointment...
the condemnation of yet another attempt at yet, another dream...
she was a single mother, how dare she take chances?
she had no business doing what would please her...
those days were long gone with the birth of her children...
she owed too much, she'd lost too much, to ask for their support meant...
she was asking too much...
this was what she listened to...as she quietly slipped out...

she walked to her favorite tree and sat down...her heart aching...
no words did she have for them...nothing could be said that would bring them...
to believe in her...
but, this was not the cause of her pain...
her tears flowed because somewhere along the way, she had come to agree with them...
she had taken on their doubts and had given in to their disappointment...
it had become ingrained in her...so much so that she hadn't noticed...
until the day she realized that if she didn't do something real...something outside of the box...
she would live her life dying a little each day...
and this would be the legacy she would pass on to her children...
it wasn't about the money...
it wasn't for the attention, or to prove her family wrong...
it was about living life out loud...taking full advantage of her gifts and blowing the lid off the rules...
it was about living a full existence and teaching her children by example...
the crossroads spread out before her that night...her fear almost tangible...
she made a choice...and she chose to take the road less traveled...
and damn, she was scared...but, damn...she was living...

say what you want...

say it aloud...let yourself hear your words...listen to your dreams and imagine them also...leave no detail out...no matter how crazy or out of line...nothing is out of line...
as opportunities present themselves, take action...IMMEDIATELY...
change your thoughts, you change your world...
be responsible...your life is up to you...

quiet

there is a place i want to go to...
it's quiet there, but for the trees blowing in the breeze...
i'm all alone...if only for a little while...
i sit upon a boulder looking out over a valley of deep, pine green...
the air is crisp and cold...i breathe in deep and smell nothing but the trees...
no expectations...no place to go, no place to be...
no one to count on...no one counting on me...
if just for a little while...

quick to judge

how quick to judge
how quick to write off
what may not fit society's whims...
that which is different
that which seems odd
may have depth deeper than the surface skimmed...

the status quo is no home to me
i reach for places unfamiliar
i don't care to fit in with popular demand...
the box is too confined
the lid threatens my air
i'll fight to the end and take my stand...

there are causes worth taking risks for
and lost souls searching for a light to guide them
fear of the unknown seems almost tangible...
but worse yet is doing nothing
i cannot forgive standing idly by
when help was so easily available...

we have forgotten who once we were
our old ways were holy and sacred
struggling we seek to find our lost place...
the new ways are insidious and destructive
we are killing ourselves slowly and surely
so ashamed we're unable even to look upon our own face...

peaceful warrior

i am a warrior...my battle is not for material items...i don't seek power or prestige...i seek peace...the pure serenity that comes when all is lost and everything is gained...this war is not won with weapons and death but, with persistence and quiet...with the presence of Spirit and the absence of hate...my battlefield begins and ends inside of me, the struggle of years running blindly through dark forests of brooding pain and choices made with bad intentions...and then...i breathe...

i am a warrior...my mission is pure...i stand alone in a crowd and i smile because i know that with this battle's end, i will have held the world in my hands and i will be free...and i will move forward, teaching those who want to learn...those who are ready to take the warrior's path...the way of the Peaceful Warrior...

My Fellow Americans

Something is lost here in this mighty place...
unrecognizable our land from sea to shining sea...
we are a broken body with scars too deep to erase...
we no longer know the meaning of what it is to be free.

We've willingly traded liberty's sweet song...
for what we've been fooled to believe is easy gain...
the devil throws his head back laughing at the throng...
of souls gathered around our country's blood soaked stain.

We send our soldiers to die for our country...
we would claim to support and yearn their return...
yet, what reward do we extend for their tour of duty...
when our homes are lost and lessons go unlearned?
We reach to the one we would blame for our demise...
we would take him and force him to show his face...
and the shock of what we see behind his clever disguise...
sends through us waves of a deep and profound disgrace.

We will be forced to look upon a truth unbearable...
yet bear it and learn from it we must...
in the end, to create our new beginning, we must hold ourselves responsible...
for the guilty party ultimately and always is...us.

i stand on a mountain

i stand on a mountain, bright moon lights the valley below...there is no sound but for the night sounds...the breeze blowing the pines, my breathing, calm and even...the air is cool on my skin, the smell of rain faint in the air...i look out upon the simplicity before me...i long for this simplicity within me...to take each moment as it comes...no concern for the past, no worry over the future...i know i am headed to this place...from whence we all have come...my impatience unnecessary...all is as it should be...all is at it's own pace...my awareness is shifting from the "story" i've been brought up to believe is "reality" to...reality in it's purest form...i have spent a lifetime seeking for that which i had lost...the search ended when i realized that, all this time...what i'd been seeking had been contained within me...i have never been without...all that i am is all that i am supposed to be...perfect...divine...

i stand on a mountain...

live

i want to tear away this facade that has boxed me in for as long...
...as long as i can remember...
i look out at the horizon and i feel a change coming, i long for the tribulations because...
...because i know that with them comes the rebirth of what is true...
we live out these lives deadened to what is real...i want to raise my hands...
...raise my soul to the heavens and fly free of this angry bitterness that has been a prison...
the journey to wakefulness begins with the choice to be eccentric...
...eccentric and perhaps unaccepted, feared, even loathed for my bravery...
the fears of too many have been forced upon me, to include my own fears...
...my own fears have proved to be as chains, holding me back from authentic experience...
i choose to break free these chains...i choose to die to this old way of living so that...
...so that i may finally live, really, truly...LIVE...

invisible

my beautiful sister...you choose invisibility...hide behind your bruises and tears...
rather than take that first scary step, then another, then another...to freedom...to your real self...
to that sacred divine you that was there when you first breathed this earthly air...
take the chance...step into that unfamiliar place and lay claim to what is yours by birthright...
you stay...you let him continue to beat you down...then you choose death...

i say to you...make yourself known...stop being invisible...

honesty

when is honesty the hardest to swallow? when you have to be truly, totally and completely honest with yourself...when you find that your next step cannot be made without taking that long, hard look in the mirror, only to face layer upon layer of work still needing to be done...work in progress, yeah, we be that but, we don't face that...it is what it is, until we bring all our mess of emotion and judgment to the table...if we were to peel away the heartbreak we've "decided" to experience, if we could detach ourselves from the emotional standpoint of the situation, whatever it may be...could we still consider ourselves human? or, would we be at the standpoint of Spirit? would we retain some semblance of compassion for the ego facets of ourselves or would we simply turn our backs and walk away? i dunno...nor am i meant to know at this time...i can say, however, what i hope...i would hope that the compassion remain intact...that we look upon "ourselves" with a loving kindness that is borne from that divine place in all of us, outside of us...that place that is us...to the point of this post, or is there a point? perhaps these musings are simply the attempt to capture a momentary glance into why it is we would lie...to each other and, to ourselves...what is the point? who are we trying to fool...in the end, one way or another, it all comes clean in the wash...why tolerate the stains we create with our untruths when the honest truth is so much so the best way to go? difficult tho' it may be to face oneself...the walk into the fire permits the rebirth of greatness, if only we can summon forth that strength to bear that sweet pain...burn away all the facades we've taken so long to build up around us...make the vulnerable in us strong so that when all is said and done, all that is left is all that truly matters...all that is left is the real, most venerated part of who we are...Divine...

He doesn't get me, she doesn't understand...

As she caressed his face, he took hold and gently brought her hand to his lips. She caught her breath and smiled. Butterflies tickled her tummy as he looked deep into her eyes. From a short distance away, these two did not realize they were being watched by another couple, much, much younger. The younger two had just finished another round of arguing; they were hard pressed to remember what the argument was about. They sat on the bench and looked on as the elderly couple on the blanket ignored all the passersby on this Saturday at the park. As the anger in them calmed, they were touched by the love that could be seen emanating off the old man and woman. Did they understand that this love wasn't simply an emotion as it was years of work, understanding and compromise? Could they see that life had not been just roses and passion but had also been pain and monotony, anger and forgiveness? See, this is what is missed much with people. Somehow we think that once we fall in love, that's it, we've found our "one" and our work is done. This a fallacy, a messed up mentality that leads many to quit too soon, many to walk out on relationships that could very well be the best thing that could have happened to them. Our women need to know that men think differently, it's just the way it is. Our men need to know likewise is true about the woman's mentality. We are different and these differences are a good thing, we compliment each other. Too often men and women make each other wrong for what is fundamental within our makeup and because of this, too many families are broken apart, too much is left unsaid that should be said and way too much is said that ought to be re-thought. Little bit of advice from someone who is day by day, painfully yet thankfully seeing the errors of her ways...understand and accept that to reach a man's heart, you must allow him to be who he is...learn the way men think. To reach a woman's heart, a man must do the same. Learn each other, respect each other and, love each other. To be different is good...very good.

hate and my part to play...your part to play

cliche' tho it may be....bear with me....
take two three year old boys...put them in a room together with a box of toys...
one child is white and borne of a culture that has had a long standing hate and fear of anyone non-white...
the other child is black and borne of a culture that has long standing defense system against those from the aforementioned culture...this defense system came to be after much persecution and injustice...the hate they feel came in riding the waves of their evil treatment...it rode in and staked a claim in many hearts...
these two children from such differing cultures sit in this room and play with the toys in the box...
they don't know each other's names but, no matter, they are playing together, enjoying each other's company...
the word tolerance has no place there because there is nothing to tolerate...they are simply two children playing...
getting along...
the past that took place before they were born, this past is nonexistent in their minds...makes no difference to them...
the hate that their parents and those before them feed and carry...this hate has yet to make it's nasty mark within these two children...they are pure and the evil that surrounds them is waiting for its chance...
you see, it's just a matter of time...these children will leave the room soon, say goodbye to one another...
they will go back to their families and they will be brought up listening and learning the way of their cultures...
they will take on the feelings of their people...even if they have nothing to back up those feelings other than the stories told to them from those who experienced and expressed the hate they feed...the hate will have won again...

hate sits and waits...it's very easy to be spread...one feels hate towards another and acts on that hate...the person victimized then takes on hate toward his persecuter and, if given the opportunity, will act on the hate towards another who represents the group from whence the persecuter came...the hate then is passed on and on...growing in strength...the hate becomes immersed within the cultures' mores and societal structure...the hate finds a home and grows...the evil wins again and again and again...
to rise above the hate, even at the hands of monstrous torment and persecution...this requires incredible strength, honesty and forgiveness...this requires a Christ mind...the ability to separate the evil from the vessel carrying it...from the one who would act out on it...there are examples throughout history of those who were able to do this...Buddha, Christ, Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Immaculee Illibigaza, etc., etc., etc.,....to infinity...it is possible for us if it was possible for them...
but, sadly, too many succumb...much easier to give in to the hate...it takes a hold psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, culturally...in so many ways....and it grows...because, we let it...because we don't wake up and take responsibility for our own part...we, each and every one of us, has a part to play...because we choose the easy way makes us as responsible for the evil in the world as those who blatantly committ evil against another...
think about that...hard to swallow isn't it...that you might have a part to play in the suffering happening across the globe, across the ages...
so i ask you...what are you going to do about it? what are we going to do about it?