The mix of community

A mix of shapes and colors

Makes a garden so appealing.

When will we come to realize

The same is true for communities?

Celebrate!

All nature sounds her trumpets:

Sing for joy!

Celebrate the new day and give thanks

for all the blessings we’ve received!

You were meant for this.

There is so much joy in discovering

who and where you were meant to be

and doing what you were meant to do.

Relax and bask in the light of the moment:

you were meant for this.

Surrounded by love

Haunted by the illusion of aloneness?

I pray the fog will lift and then reveal

the truth -- that you're surrounded by love.

A shady place

I hope that in the heat of the day

you may find a quiet, shady place to rest...

The roses or the thorns

Filled with sadness

For those who walk

The path, so lined with flowers,

But cannot see the roses for the thorns...

The purity in stillness

There is a purity to be found in stillness.

Help me today to quiet my thoughts

That purity may be restored.

Ideas, take flight

You are unique, but you are not alone.

The same air fills your lungs as mine;

the same breeze lifts the wings of our ideas.

Let them take flight, that they may heal the world...

Let your dreams rise

Today, let your dreams rise,

Your hopes take flight,

And all great possibilities

Dance happily among the stars...

Calm waters

Wishing you calm waters,

a peaceful morning,

and a day of quiet rest.

The face of the Divine

Look closely, and in every living thing

You will see the face of the Divine.

Feeding your soul for the journey

Yes, it’s good to take the long view.

But don’t forget:

You need to feed your soul along the way...

What have we learned?

Watching their forebears, the young ones learn

to stand tall and cup their hands, reaching for the light.

Who are our forebears, and what have we learned from them?

Swimming in gratitude

Swimming in gratitude today

For all the friends, family,

organizations and institutions

That help keep us afloat...

A moment of peace

Wishing you a moment of peace

as the new day begins to stir...

Focus challenge

Don't be too hard on yourself.

Sometimes when there are challenges close at hand,

it can be really hard to focus

on anything down the road...

Happy Anniversary

Marriage is a curious vehicle,

But I’ve never regretted settling into it,

And as another year rolls round

I confess I’m still loving the ride!

The sea of gratitude

On this dark morning, 

not knowing what the day might bring,

can we still find a moment to rest

in a sea of gratitude?

Flames of revenge

Let not the flames of retaliation and revenge

consume your soul: An eye for an eye

will make the whole world blind.

Hope anyway

There will be times in life when hope
Seems powerless to stop the spread of evil.
Hope anyway, and do what you can
To bring the good to light...

Our differences have value

A closer look at flowers tells us all we need to know:
That everything’s connected,
and our differences each have value:
All work together for the common good.

Let wisdom's waters rise

Like water, wisdom tends to gather
At the low spots in our lives.
Pay attention; open up your heart,
And let wisdom’s waters rise to fill your soul.

Broaden your perspective

Our challenge, every day,
Is to broaden our perspective:
To look beyond our personal struggles
And see the larger world that lies before us.

A Separate Peace

There are days when I can see the peace

That awaits me,

I just can’t quite figure out how to get there...

Prepare to wait out the storm

If we set sail today, into the sea of clouds,

let's bring along an anchor, just in case:

the weather could get rough, and sometimes it's best

to park yourself somewhere safe and wait out the storm.

Projections/Reflections

So much of what we see in what’s around us
is simply a reflection
of our own thoughts and projections...

Our communal thirst

How far must we travel,
How long must we wait
Before our communal thirst
for righteousness is assuaged?

Approach Avoidance

In every situation there’s a flower and a bee,
But the choice is always yours: you decide
Which is which: which is good and which is bad;
Which to approach or avoid; and which you’ll be.

Fantastic hope

This may seem like a fantasy, a forlorn hope,

but I'm asking you to trust, and work to ensure

that the overall arc of history

will always bend toward justice and compassion.

Cycle of life

Even as one blossom fades,
Another’s on its way.
Something’s always dying or being born.

Restore your soul

Why not take some time today
To rest beside still waters;
Breathe in some peace,
And let it restore your soul...