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Weekly Meditations

Meditations on leadership through shepherding model: Ezekiel 34

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Man is not the lord of beings. Man is the shepherd of Being. — Martin Heidegger

Being followers is not a bad thing, but who are we following? — David Philips

Ezekiel’s description of the false shepherds translates all too well into the 21st century, as large corporations extract resources from powerless people and regions, leaving them worse off than before. — Reta Halteman Finger

SONGS about SHEPHERDS:

SONGS about SHEEP:

Video introductions to the book of Ezekiel:

Article on styles of leadership:

Articles about shepherding in Palestine in contemporary times:

  1. https://www.oikoumene.org/news/early-morning-business-eas-accompany-bedouin-shepherds-in-jordan-valley
  2. https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/global-development/agriculture/a-shepherds-life/

SHEPHERD LEADERS (excerpt)— Forbes.com (full article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2021/03/11/are-you-a-shepherd-leader/?sh=611a799c3ed8)

What is the difference between leadership and shepherd leadership? According to Dictionary.com, “leadership is the position of function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group.” While a shepherd “is a person who protects, guides or watches over a person or group of people,” i.e., a protector, guardian, defender, keeper.
Then, what is the definition and role of a shepherd leader, and why is such a distinction important?
Shepherds of leadership are pundits expected to create positive change, to protect the core while simultaneously fueling advancement. They are expected to guide and nourish opportunity. They nurture and docent their flock who follow and pave the path, fueling the mission’s light ahead as the shepherd leads from behind. Shepherds fuel the flock’s resolve and personal engine of determination with their own righteous kinetic service to others.
The jetstream of frustration for any organization, for any home life, is leadership absent of heart, empathy, creativity — absent of plan. In fact, the very best shepherds of business opportunities are heralded by the happiness of their team. This manifests in the language of victories, team spirit, productivity and results under the wide umbrella of the art of the possible

Verse on Libyan Shepherds (excerpt) — Virgil
Now, shall my verse pursue the Libyan nomads,
Their pastures, huts, their scattered settlements?
Their flocks will often, day and night for a month,
Roam and graze the empty tracts and find
No shelter in the vast expanse of land.
This African shepherd takes his world along,
His household, weapons, dog, his bow and arrows,
Much like the Roman soldier fierce in arms
Who marches forth, unfairly burdened down
By all his field equipment, and arrives
Ahead of time, to catch the foe off guard.

_______

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work … begins:
…To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
— Howard Thurman

_______

For the Shepherd Who Is Also the Path the Sun Makes in Daytime (excerpt) — Komal Mathew
 
… A good shepherd angles a lion’s eye, traps gazelles
in dry fields, copies a cheetah’s spots one leg at a time.
 
A good shepherd does not give you stones
when you ask for toast, does not ask you to work
 
without a burning bush—but owns a gate, uses a gate, pulls
the weeds and leaves the wheat on an altar of choices.
 
A good shepherd is a prince of peace when terror finds its full echo,
a creator in the wild where a predator, providentially, becomes prey.

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COMMENTARY on SHEPHERDS

Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd. ― Rumi

The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty. — Abraham Lincoln

Shepherds lift their heads, not to gaze at a new light but to hear angels.  ― Richelle E. Goodrich
 
The seaman tells stories of winds, the ploughman of bulls; the soldier details his wounds, the shepherd his sheep. — Laurence J. Peter

… we’re lazy when it comes to doing things that are good for us; we also want someone to follow – someone to go first, for them to take the risks thereby smoothing our path; a sort of guarantee that we won’t stumble. Ironically, we also want to be followed in some way; we are both sheep and shepherd. ― Renée Paule
 
There was a shepherd the other day … who had in his eyes that reminiscence of horizons which makes the eyes of shepherds and of mountaineers different from the eyes of other men. ― Hilaire Belloc
 
I don’t want to get too philosophical, but in a sense, you’re given this gift, this sort of creative force in you, and I think everyone has it, and it’s completely unique to you. And you as a person have a little bit of a responsibility as its shepherd if you choose to incorporate that into your life. — Ze Frank
 
Too many leaders act as if the sheep… their people… are there for the benefit of the shepherd, not that the shepherd has responsibility for the sheep. — Ken Blanchard

It is the duty of a good shepherd to shear his sheep, not to skin them. — attributed to Tiberius
 
Compassion is a Shepherd, Always tending his herd. — Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

A true shepherd leads the way. He does not merely point the way. — Leonard Ravenhill
 
Shepherds know many mysterious languages; they speak the language of sheep and dogs, language of stars and skies, flowers and herbs. — Mehmet Murat Ildan

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FACTS ABOUT SHEEP — LiveScience (full article: https://www.livescience.com/52755-sheep-facts.html)

Sheep are related to antelopes, cattle, muskoxen and goats. All of these mammals are even-toed ungulates — their hooves are cloven, or split into two toes. They are also ruminants — their stomachs have multiple chambers to aid digestion. Most sheep have large, curling horns that are made of keratin — the same stuff as fingernails.
     Most people are familiar with sheep as wooly farm animals that say “Baa.” But the domestic sheep is just one species of sheep. There are also five (or six, depending on the source) species of wild sheep…
    … Habitat

Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated, and they are raised all over the world. Wild sheep also live throughout the world — in the Middle East, Asia, Central Europe and North America — mostly in mountainous areas. Bighorn sheep live in the Rocky Mountain region of North America. Desert bighorn sheep live in Death Valley, California, as well as Nevada, Texas and northern Mexico. They can live on desert mountains as high as 4,000 feet (1,200 m). Urials can live even higher up. They are found in Asia and the Middle East on grassy terrains with elevations of up to 19,690 feet (6,000 m), according to the ADW.  Habits

Sheep are social, but usually only with their own gender. Males have their own herds called bachelor herds. These herds usually contain five to 50 rams at one time. The females live in nursery herds. Nursery herds can have five to 100 members that include adult females and their young. 

Male sheep fight for dominance in their group. Some ram each other at speeds up to 20 mph (32 kph), according to National Geographic (opens in new tab). Dominance is gained when one male submits. This process can take hours. Diet

Sheep are herbivores, which means their diet does not include meat. They typically eat seeds, grass and plants. Like all ruminants, they have multi-chambered stomachs that are adapted to ferment cellulose before digestion, according to the ADW. To completely digest their food, sheep will regurgitate their food into their mouths, rechew and swallow. This regurgitated food is called cud.

Some sheep don’t need much water. The desert bighorn sheep, for example, gets most of its water from eating plants, according to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. Offspring

Male sheep fight for the right to mate with the females and the strongest is usually the only one allowed to mate. Mating season, called the rut, happens in the autumn. After mating, female sheep have a gestation period of around five months. They usually give birth to one or two offspring at a time in the spring. 

Baby sheep are called lambs. Lambs can walk just minutes after they are born, though they are often dependent on their mothers for the first four to six months of their lives. They are weaned around four to six month and become sexually mature around one and a half to five years, depending on species and gender. For example, the male argali sheep doesn’t become sexually mature until age 5, while the female becomes sexually mature at age 1 or 2, according to the ADW.

Sheep are part of the Bovidae family, which includes antelopes, cattle and goats. Sheep usually can be identified from their similar looking cousins by their horns. Goats typically have straight horns and sheep have rounded horns. Also, male goats have beards while male sheep do not.

Here is the taxonomy of sheep, according to ITIS: 

Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom: Bilateria Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Superclass: Tetrapoda Class: Mammalia Subclass: Theria Infraclass: Eutheria Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Subfamily: Caprinae Genus: Ovis Species: 

  • Ovis ammon (argalis), with nine subspecies
  • Ovis aries (domestic sheep, mouflon, red sheep, feral sheep), with nine subspecies, including urials
  • Ovis canadensis (bighorn sheep), with seven subspecies
  • Ovis dalli (Dall’s sheep, Fannin’s sheep, Stone’s sheep), with two subspecies
  • Ovis nivicola (snow sheep), with four subspecies

…

Other facts

If a sheep rolls over onto its back, it may not be able to get up without assistance, according to the Sheep101 website. A fallen sheep is called a “cast” sheep. They can become distressed and die within a short period of time if they are not rolled back into a normal position. When back on their feet, they may need supported for a few minutes to ensure they are steady. It happens mostly with pregnant ewes and short, stocky sheep with full fleeces. 

Most sheep’s milk produced worldwide is made into cheese, such as feta, ricotta, pecorino, Romano and Roquefort.

The most famous sheep is probably Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned. She was born in Scotland in 1996, gave birth to six lambs, and died in 2003 after developing a lung infection. She was stuffed and put on display at the Royal Museum of Scotland. (Fun fact: Dolly was named for country singer Dolly Parton.)

Each winter, a sheep’s set of horns gets a growth ring. By counting the rings, scientist can tell the age of a male sheep.

According to The Phrase Finder, the term “black sheep” to refer to a disreputable or disgraced member of a family may have derived from the notion that black fleeces could not be dyed and were therefore less valuable than white fleece. It may also be due to a bad translation of the Bible in 1535. 

Other resources

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THOUGHTS on SHEEP

If sheep do not have the constant care of a shepherd, they will go the wrong way, unaware of the dangers at hand. They have been known to nibble themselves right off the side of a mountain….. And so, because sheep are sheep, they need shepherds to care for them. The welfare of sheep depends solely upon the care they get from their shepherd. Therefore, the better the shepherd, the healthier the sheep. — Kay Arthur I am like the sick sheep that strays from the rest of the flock. Unless the Good Shepherd takes me on His shoulders and carries me back to His fold, my steps will falter, and in the very effort of rising, my feet will give way. — St. Jerome

The metaphor of the king as the shepherd of his people goes back to ancient Egypt. Perhaps the use of this particular convention is due to the fact that, being stupid, affectionate, gregarious, and easily stampeded, the societies formed by sheep are most like human ones. — Northrop Frye

Experience has taught me that the Shepherd is far more willing to show His sheep the path than the sheep are to follow. He is endlessly merciful, patient, tender, and loving. If we, His stupid and wayward sheep, really want to be led, we will without fail be led. Of that I am sure. — Elisabeth Elliot

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CHRISTIAN  COMMENTARY on SHEPHERDS & SHEEP

    “Shepherd” is an ancient leadership term. It had already been in widespread use for more than two thousand years by the time the New Testament was written. Across the Ancient Near East it was a common term for gods and kings. Throughout history it has borne two broad, often overlapping meanings, authority and care. The Old Testament carries the term’s rich history into the historical and prophetic books. The New Testament uses both meanings in the Gospels, the Epistles and the Book of Revelation.
     THE ANCIENT SHEPHERD KINGS: The ancient kings of Mesopotamia use shepherd terminology as a metaphor for their sovereign authority. Lugi-zaggissi (ca. 2500 B.C.) described himself as being “born for shepherding. Shushin (ca. 2030 B.C.) was “the king whom the god Enlil, in his heart, has elected to be the shepherd of the country and of the four corners of the world. Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.) called himself a shepherd
    Orientalists have documented images of Pharaoh and of the god Osiris holding a shepherd’s crook, the Ancient Near Eastern king’s visible symbol of power and authority. So too in Egypt, the shepherd’s crook symbolized Pharaoh’s divine authority.  The motif’s appearance in the Egyptian pantheon suggests a powerful metaphor that transcended cultural and social barriers in the ANE (Ancient Near East).
    ISRAEL’S DAVIDIC SHEPHERD KINGS: David, the shepherd, was summoned from his flocks and anointed king.  A humble shepherd, he was known to be “a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.”  When Israel’s twelve tribes formed one kingdom the shepherd king motif was invoked to solemnize their covenant with David.
    To be king was to be the shepherd. Calling David “the shepherd of God’s people” was tantamount to calling him Israel’s king.The prophets used the shepherd motif to castigate kings, princes and governing officials. The promise that God would regather his scattered flock and re-establish the kingdom, with David as king, draws upon this ancient metaphor.
    In that day “they will walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statues.” They will enjoy everlasting peace for the LORD “will make a covenant of peace with them.” They live in peace because “David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd.”
    Many of the prophetic passages that use the shepherd king motif were promises about the messiah. Some of these prophecies referred to his identity, some to his service, and many to the nature of his kingdom. The tight prophetic link between the shepherd king and the messiah become gloriously clear in Jesus Christ.
     Conclusion: The shepherd motif predates the New Testament by several thousand years. It has a rich association with the governing power and authority of kings. This is widely attested throughout the Middle East and in the Greek city states.

     When we approach the New Testament, especially from our vantage point almost 2,000 years after the final chapter was penned, we must take care not to automatically associate the term “pastor” with images related to animal husbandry. — Bud Brown, full article: https://www.turnaroundpastor.com/what-pastors-learn-from-ane-kings/

Christianity has found a useful symbol in the image of the shepherd. Our word “pastor” is from the Latin meaning “shepherd” and it is within common language of the Church to speak of this relationship between a pastor and his congregation as the relationship between a shepherd and his flock. Beyond this the church as a whole recognizes the image of the Good Shepherd, that is as Jesus Christ as King of the Church, it’s ultimate leader…
      Nearly as far back as written history goes, there exists the motif of kings as Shepherds. It was used in ancient Mesopotamia as far back as 3000BC, the area of the world out of which Abraham was called. The Egyptian Pharaohs used a shepherd staff or crook as one of their royal symbols and the prophets of Israel and Judah used the metaphor repeatedly….
     In the world of the ancient Near East, this was an obvious metaphor. The pastoral industry, the raising of sheep and goats, was a backbone of society. From these animals the necessities of life were produced: meat, milk and resulting dairy products, clothing from their wool and eventual leather, their horns were used as trumpets or containers to carry things like oil, and sheep were a means to barter or trade with. Sheep were even taken as taxes in organized society, for example 100 sheep a day were provided by the citizens of Israel for King Solomon’s household and government… And sheep were a central sacrificial animal as outlined by the Biblical Mosaic Law.  
    The image of kings and leaders as shepherds in the ancient near east may also be seen with a bit of irony, due to the sometimes-stigmatized profession that it was. Shepherds were often viewed as uncivilized. Always dwelling outside, away from cities, away from protection. They were necessary but not glamourous. The symbol however, likely derived from the special relationship that developed between sheep and their shepherd, including the sheep’s ultimate trust of the shepherd and their obedience to his or her voice. Sending a protective, nurturing message to help solidify a king’s power.
    Biblically, the image of the Good Shepherd is taken on by Christ Himself. — Corie Bobechko, full article: https://biblediscoverytv.com/history/2021/shepherd-king-motif/

And, like sheep, when someone or something comes along and finally makes us feel safe and loved and worthy and feeling like maybe we are finally going in the right direction, we follow them… And man, do we choose some lousy shepherds. .
…I have allowed myself to be shepherded by my addictions, and broken institutions, and the so called “wellness” industry, and the angriest voices on twitter – all while thinking I am for sure just following my own individual thoughts and desires.
    But this week I realized that not one single shepherd-shaped wolf that I have followed, has ever actually fulfilled my wants and desires, they have only ever increased them…
    Wolves and lesser shepherds will always suggest that we should look, feel, and act a certain way that is always just out of reach no matter how much we strive. And any past success serves only as an accusation against our current efforts. They set before us an unwinnable game. And in it there is no rest….
    So, here is a way to spot the difference between the wolves and the good shepherd–The shepherd never holds auditions. The Shepherd never mentions the quality of sheep they demand. The shepherd never bases their protection and love and concern for their sheep on how the sheep look or feel or behave or achieve…that’s never mentioned as a basis for belonging to the flock of the Good Shepherd.  Those are just things wolves create as a basis for belonging because grace is just too offensive.  Grace is just too hard to take since on some level, we think that if it’s free it must be worthless.
    So, yeah…There are no auditions. Nothing to earn. No extra credit in God’s flock. Which also means that there is no basis for comparison.  Nothing to envy in others. Nothing to prove. Even to ourselves
    In the good shepherd’s keeping, striving is replaced by relaxing. — Nadia Bolz-Weber

God is not a celestial prison warden jangling the keys
on a bunch of lifers–he’s a shepherd seeking for sheep,
a woman searching for coins,
a father waiting for his son. — Clarence Jordan

Jesus obviously drew shepherd allegories from his scriptures as well as from local sheepherding practices. — Reta Halteman Finger

We have seen that Ezekiel was a priest (1:3) whom God called to be prophet to His people of the Babylonian captivity. With the siege of Jerusalem ended, the Temple plundered, and the walls and city of Jerusalem in piles of rubble, the attention of God’s prophet now turned to the failure of the religious leaders of Israel… Ezekiel 34 is an indictment of the “shepherds of Israel” (the religious leaders), for their self-righteous, ungracious spirit…. The shepherds (pastors) of Israel were self-centered consumers. They had put their interests above the needs of the people.  — Rev Travis D. Smith

God is never on the sidelines of His children’s lives. He goes before them. He leads them, guides them, protects and saves them. — Monica Johnson
 
Worshipping the Lord means giving Him the place that he must have; worshipping the Lord means stating, believing – not only by our words – that He alone truly guides our lives; worshipping the Lord means that we are convinced before Him that He is the only God, the God of our lives, the God of our history. — Pope Francis

As we follow Jesus more closely, others, who cannot see Jesus yet, will follow us – they will recognize His voice in us and in our actions. — David Philips

The Lord IS my shepherd. Not was, not may be, nor will be. . . is my shepherd on Sunday, is on Monday, and is through every day of the week; is in January, is in December, and every month of the year, is at home, and is in China; is in peace, and is in war; in abundance, and in penury. — Hudson Taylor

When we are fearful and worried all the time, we are living as if we don’t believe that we have a strong and able Shepherd who is tenderhearted toward us, who only leads us to good places, who protects us and lovingly watches over us. — Joseph Prince
 
You have a God who hears you, the power of love behind you, the Holy Spirit within you, and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner and an anchor for every storm. You have everything you need. — Max Lucado

God has entrusted us with his most precious treasure – people. He asks us to shepherd and mold them into strong disciples, with brave faith and good character. — John Ortberg

And if the line between pasture and wilderness wasn’t clearly drawn, neither was it safely fenced, which meant that the shepherd not only had to worry about sheep wandering off but about wild animals snatching them in the dark—not to mention bandits. … had to be prepared to fight them off—that’s what that staff was for … the shepherd’s staff was a tool and a weapon. It could be used to block a sheep’s path into danger or to prod it to safety; and it could be used to beat off an attacking wolf—or an attacking human. A shepherd had to be continuously alert, always ready both to care kindly for his sheep and to do battle with enemies. “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me,” not because the shepherd looks so comfortable leaning on them, but because they show that he’s ready to defend us. — David Walbert

A writer spent time with a shepherd on the Texas plains. One night, the shepherd built a fire, and the sheep gathered close. Around midnight, a coyote howled in the distance, followed by another coyote from the opposite direction. The fearful sheep began bleating.
    The shepherd tossed logs onto the fire. As flames shot up, the writer looked out and saw 4,000 tiny lights—the fire reflected in the eyes of 2,000 sheep. With enemies all around, the sheep looked only toward the shepherd. Why? They trusted him. — Stephen Rummage

9/11 Remembrance

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , , , , ,

Offered by one of our colleagues, local rabbi:

WAGE PEACE by Judyth Hill
Wage peace with your breath.
Breathe in firemen and rubble, breathe out whole buildings and flocks of red wing blackbirds.
Breathe in terrorists
and breathe out sleeping children and freshly mown fields.
Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees.
Breathe in the fallen and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.
Wage peace with your listening: hearing sirens, pray loud.
Remember your tools: flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.
Make soup.
Play music; memorize the words for thank you in three languages.
Learn to knit, and make a hat.
Think of chaos as dancing raspberries,
imagine grief
as the out breath of beauty
or the gesture of fish.
Swim for the other side.
Wage peace.
Never has the world seemed so fresh and precious:
Have a cup of tea and rejoice.
Act as if armistice has already arrived.
Celebrate today.

 


Written by Portsmouth NH poet laureate Rev Maren Tirabassi in 2020:

PAUSE for September 11 by Rev Maren Tirabassi

Pause for September 11.
Don’t say — remember.
Some of our remembers
are complicated
by what was happening to us
and some of us do not remember
because we are too young.

Pause for September 11.
Don’t say – pray.
Some of us want to pray
about the fires ravaging the west,
the terrible losses
of the coronavirus pandemic,
and some want to assign God
a personal agenda
of the first two amendments,
immigration, or masks.

Pause for September 11.
Don’t say – be a patriot.
That has too many meanings,
mostly full of
this-is-the-right-way
and the rest of you are wrong
and can also be confused
with a football team, TV show,
or surface-to-air missile.

Just pause for September 11.
In 2001 particular people died.
People who helped continue to die.
People died in acts
of response or retaliation.
People who live still grieve.
People who live
try to make the world better
because of that day.

Pause.

PRAYER for 9/11 by Rev Gail Doktor (reprised)

Holy Love is bigger than our languages and names for Godself. And so, however we might address the Source of Holy Love, on a day that touches many faith tradittions, let us turn our hearts toward love.
         As an act of prayer, let us remember. And remembering, may we learn, that we might create a different future for generations yet to come.
         We are a nation comprised of many ages, colors, creeds, languages, faiths, ethnicities, and stories. Our forefathers and foremothers, whether they already lived here, arrived here by choice, or came without volition, have contributed to creating a land that— at its best—seeks to broaden the experience of freedom and access to justice for all of its people. Over the centuries this nation, which is upheld by people like you and me, and people different from you and me, has grown to be stronger and striven to become ever-more inclusive. Our differences contribute to that resilience and strength.
         At its best, this dream of freedom that encompasses all people continues be the foundation of our ideals: we are— or may become — home and sanctuary for all kinds of people.Although we know, when we look honestly at our own history, that we must often engage in civil struggle to attain transformation,  we remain committed to doing so.
         Yes, we get it wrong sometimes. Then again, we keep trying, and often enough, we also get it right.
         Today we pause to remember: in Jackson, in the Mt Washington Valley, and around the nation. People held moments of silence. People walked with flags. People sang. People played bagpipes. People rang steeple bells. People rolled in fire trucks, police cruisers, and ambulances. People gathered. People remembered, and told the story again.
          This morning, just like more than two deades ago, we are a country in the midst of growth. We do not live in a state of finalized perfection, but a creative and imperfect, messy and mighty, living experiment in liberty. When we remain motivated by our nation’s ideals, we act not out of fear, but out of courage and compassion. We build toward a sustainable peace for our own times and generations yet to come.  
         Today, we remember the attacks that killed people from 93 nations: originally 2,753 people in New York; 184 people at the Pentagon; and 40 people on Flight 93. Thousands more were injured, either immediately or in the aftermath of rescue, recovery and rebuilding. Others died or were incapacitated due to complications from living and serving around those sites. Wars have been waged, and peace-building attempted, in response to the events of 9/11: thousands more lives are included in that ongoing legacy, too.
         Yes, terrorism was aimed at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. For a period of time, the land, water and skies in and around Manhattan, New York, western Pennsylvania, and in Arlington County, Virginia became sites of trauma, loss. Also sites of heroism. Now they are places of remembrance and learning.
         Today we acknowledge the victims: brothers and sisters from 93 nations, not just ours. People of every imaginable faith. People who spoke different tongues. People of every hue, who created a rainbow of humanity. People who woke up, traveled into the city, and started their days, to live common lives.
         These people, largely, were not warriors, but civilians. And in the every-day-ness of their living and doing, they told stories much like ours. They had families. Partners. Children. Siblings. Friends. Communities that expected them home again.
          They had dreams. They played. They worked. They prayed. Most of them did not expect or ask to bear names that have become synonymous with a nation’s story about itself.
         Among them, the city’s first responders—who have become symbolic of our nation’s first responders —served at great risk, and on that day, ran toward danger rather than away from it.
          All of them, men, women, children, both civilians and those who served a specific call, carried names that have indeed, and unexpectedly, have become a different kind of prayer.
         Brothers and sisters, let us lift up today, not the message that those who sought to force change through violence would have us learn. May we resist acting out of fear. Those who instigated violence believed that they could clip the wings of our imaginations, and topple our beliefs out of the sky.
         Instead, let us remember, and honor, the lives of common people whose lives have taken on an uncommon meaning, May we remember, and doing so, reclaim, rebuild and re-imagine, here in our own local community and across our country and around the world, a bigger vision that embraces peace. One that still has feet, but also wings.
         May we struggle together to achieve our shared ideals. May we seek to do the next right thing, motivated by compassion and courage. May we continue to expand, within our own borders, the great promise of freedom so that it is accessible to all of our nation’s children, through a civil process that—at its best—gives birth to justice, cultivates peace, and recognizes the dignity and value of every human soul.
         Peace. May this be the lesson we choose to learn, in remembrance of those events, in recognition of those lives forever lost or changed. Peace — sustainable and healthy and equitable and accessible in its abundance for all people. May we remember the names and stories of our brothers and sisters, those who died and those were carry the trauma and hurt in their changed lives. May we add our own stories to theirs, as we are called to engage in the great civil work of peace that is the legacy of this day.
         Peace is not the dream of one nation, but necessarily, it is the prayer of all peoples in all nations all over the world. Shalom. Salaam. Peace.
         Amen
   
To learn more, visit the 9/11 memorial site: https://www.911memorial.org/20th-anniversary

Reflections about new and old, aged and young.

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Today I begin a new life. Today I shed my old skin which hath, too long, suffered the bruises of failure and the wounds of mediocrity. Today I am born anew and my birthplace is a vineyard where there is fruit for all. — Og Mandino

For I am full of words,
and the spirit within me compels me;
inside I am like bottled-up wine,
like new wineskins ready to burst.
— Job 32:18-19

Then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. — Deuteronomy 11:14

‘Israel will live in safety; Jacob will dwell secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew.’ — Deuteronomy 33:28

‘May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness—an abundance of grain and new wine.’— Genesis 27:28

SONGS about WINE:

NEW WINE — Deakin Dixon

Black grape, black grape,
On the hillside growing clean;
Round grape,
Thick stem,
Curled green.

You were young snd green and tight,
Virgin blushing with the sun,
You have done what I have done,
Lain with summer,
Sweet and supple,
Yielded, given maidenhead,
While you lay in summer’s bed.

Black and golden,
Blue and purple,
Now you stand upon the vine,
Waiting for strong hands to make you
Into wine.

COMMENTARY on WINE

Wine has kind of like a binary moral value for the Hebrew Bible authors … because it’s a gift to the garden, which means it’s good. Genesis 1, it’s good. Psalm 104 says, “God gives grass to the creatures and makes crops grow out of the ground and vine to give joy to the human heart.” Psalm 104. But then you know, the Proverbs will also say wine is a mocker and strong drink is a brawler. It’ll make you get into fights and get hurt and then not remember in the morning. So, just like anything that’s good, it can be taken one of two ways… So it’s another way that the tree [of life] represents a choice for people. There’s all these stories about often leaders who get drank… It’s just being the fruit of the vine tree… Just comparing those two things, like you can be filled with God’s Spirit, his wisdom… You can be under the influence of the Spirit, in which case you’ll have discernment to make wise choices that bring good to you and other people. And if your brain’s not working right, especially if you caused your brain not to work right [by drinking too much, for instance], you’re going to hurt yourself or hurt other people or both. And that’s the way of folly. … Two different ways. It can gladden your heart and be a gift of God, because it tastes amazing, but it can also destroy you, like most good things in life.— The Bible Project podcast. See full text: https://d1bsmz3sdihplr.cloudfront.net/media/Podcast%20Transcripts/TBP%20Transcripts/Tree%20of%20Life_E10_Is%20the%20Tree%20of%20Life%20Practical%20Transcript.pdf

The WINE of LOVE — James Thomson

The wine of Love is music,
And the feast of Love is song:
And when Love sits down to the banquet,
Love sits long:

Sits long and ariseth drunken,
But not with the feast and the wine;
He reeleth with his own heart,
That great rich Vine.

POEM — Rumi

You shattered my cup.

You shattered my cage.

Light, feast, triumphant blessing,

friend, trickster, haven for my drunken heart,

you brought my spirit to a boil,

turned my grapes to wine.

you lit a fire to the fragrant wood

and body of song in me.

Watch the smoke rise.

POEM — Rumi

We are the mirror,
also the face in it.

Drunk from eternal wine,
we are also the cup we sip from.

We prevent illness;
we also cure it.

We are the water of life,
also the jar that pours it.

Using the Three “R”s to Understand a Mysterious Teaching — Unity.org. Full article: https://www.unity.org/article/how-stop-putting-new-wine-old-wineskins

… How to Avoid Exploding Wineskins

The comparison is a very apt one when we think of the properties of wine and wineskins. When wine is new, it is in a state of fermentation. It bubbles and expands as the fermentation gases are released. A fresh, pliable wineskin can absorb such expansion and slowly age-with the wine until the fermentation process is complete.

To put fresh wine into an old wineskin, however, is asking for trouble. The old wineskin has assumed a definite shape and is no longer pliable. It is fixed and somewhat brittle. The activity of new wine will stress it beyond its ability to yield. And so both the wine and the skin are lost.

We can’t put new ideas into old mindsets. We can’t get new results with old behaviors.

For example, one of the most common resolutions, and one that gets broken most often, has to do with weight control. … What most of us fail to do is address permanent changes in our eating habits. Trying to put the new wine of a trimmer body into the old wineskin of established and ingrained poor eating patterns cannot bring lasting results.

Habits unchecked are stronger than conscious willpower every time. Only when we fully understand what is really going on at the level of unconscious behavior can we take control and bring willpower to bear.

How many times have we said something like “I’m tired of procrastinating. Beginning tomorrow I’m not putting things off any longer”?

And we try! But somehow tomorrow never quite comes …

How about, “I resolve that this new year will be my most prosperous and rewarding year ever.” … Chances are we are still holding on to some old wineskin ideas concerning our true source of abundance. We haven’t fully bought in to the concept of giving and receiving.

We can’t put new ideas into old mindsets. We can’t get new results with old behaviors.

So how do we get these new wineskins—these new minds out of which our new life will emerge? [With] three strong verbs, “Repent, Replace, and Relax.”Repent Means to Change Your Thinking

Repent means so much more than being conscience-stricken or contrite. The underlying Greek word is a form of metanoia, which means to undergo a fundamental change in one’s mind or character. Simply put, to repent is to change one’s thinking. Shift paradigms.

The apostle Paul grasped this well. To his friends in Rome, he said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds” (Romans 12:2). And to those in Philippi, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

The way Jesus saw the world is crucial to understanding and living in the new paradigm, the new wineskin. Do we want prosperity? We can adopt the Jesus mind-set of an opulent universe. The old wineskin says that the harvest comes only at a certain time and in a certain way. The new wineskin of the Christ mind says, “But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting” (John 4:35) and “give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap” (Luke 6:38).

The old paradigm says, “Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it!” The new paradigm says, “Ah, you’ll see it when you believe it!”

The essence of repentance is letting go of old, limited ideas and investing our belief in new, expansive ideas.

Here are some bold thoughts for your new future:

  • I am transformed by the renewing of my mind.
  • I have the mind in me that is also in Christ Jesus.
  • I lovingly release all old, unproductive thoughts and feelings and let them go.
  • I change my thinking now from lack to plenty, from illness to health, from the old me to the new me.
  • I joyfully welcome new ideas from the Christ mind in me, and I am transformed.

Replace with New Thoughts

Now let’s do some replacing, our second “R.” The Unity method of affirmative prayer can be very helpful here. We construct meaningful affirmations that keep our conscious mind interested and entertained and then we practice them repetitively so that our subconscious mind is impressed with the change.

Then start replacing the old lifestyle: My meals are healthy and balanced, and my exercise is sufficient. I am trimmer and fitter now.

Make sure that the two conditions in the affirmations are true, that your meals are healthy and balanced and that you are getting enough exercise. We can’t kid ourselves here. Such an affirmation keeps us conscious of our goal, and practice and repetition make it a habit.

As we replace old patterns with new ones and use them, not as temporary measures but as permanent changes, we become transformed. Our repentance takes on visibility.Then Relax About It

And now the third “R”—relax. Let the process work. Relaxing doesn’t mean going back to the old patterns. It means not worrying or straining for results. Don’t establish unrealistic time frames. It took us awhile to get this way, and it will take a while for changes to fully materialize.

Relaxing means to give things the light touch. It means not condemning the old concepts and behaviors. Just let them go. They have served their purpose of bringing us to this present moment.

Talk to your body and give it instructions to relax, beginning with the toes and working upward or with the scalp and working down. A regular period of time set aside for the purpose of relaxing can be of inestimable value for our bodies and our minds.Don’t Forget to Pray

It is always a good idea to surround the whole process of repenting, replacing, and relaxing with prayer. Spend time in the silence with the Lord of your being, your source of guidance and energy.

In the deep silence, you may tap into that vast, inexhaustible source of universal energy and become fully empowered to change your thinking and to begin replacing old, limited patterns of living with new, vital ones. You can change your thinking now from the old to the new, from the impossible to the possible, from the limited to the unlimited.

Taking the two great commandments to heart: love as the most ancient law

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , , , , , , , , ,

At its core, caring for creation is about loving our global neighbor, because the poor suffer the most from the degradation of the earth. — Shane Claiborne

You shall love your crooked neighbour
   With your crooked heart. — WH Auden

You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.— Jane Goodall

SONGS about LOVING each OTHER (our NEIGHBORS):

Songs about LOVING the EARTH:

As I Walked Out One Evening

— W. H. Auden

As I walked out one evening,
   Walking down Bristol Street,
The crowds upon the pavement
   Were fields of harvest wheat.

And down by the brimming river
   I heard a lover sing
Under an arch of the railway:
   ‘Love has no ending.

‘I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you
   Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
   And the salmon sing in the street,

‘I’ll love you till the ocean
   Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
   Like geese about the sky.

‘The years shall run like rabbits,
   For in my arms I hold
The Flower of the Ages,
   And the first love of the world.’

But all the clocks in the city
   Began to whirr and chime:
‘O let not Time deceive you,
   You cannot conquer Time.

‘In the burrows of the Nightmare
   Where Justice naked is,
Time watches from the shadow
   And coughs when you would kiss.

‘In headaches and in worry
   Vaguely life leaks away,
And Time will have his fancy
   To-morrow or to-day.

‘Into many a green valley
   Drifts the appalling snow;
Time breaks the threaded dances
   And the diver’s brilliant bow.

‘O plunge your hands in water,
   Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
   And wonder what you’ve missed.

‘The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
   The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the tea-cup opens
   A lane to the land of the dead.

‘Where the beggars raffle the banknotes
   And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
   And Jill goes down on her back.

‘O look, look in the mirror,
   O look in your distress:
Life remains a blessing
   Although you cannot bless.

‘O stand, stand at the window
   As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
   With your crooked heart.’

It was late, late in the evening,
   The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
   And the deep river ran on.

POEM by Elizabeth Tambasci

You can sit with us. You can live beside us.
You can play your music. You can listen to mine.
We can dance together. We can share our food.
We can keep an eye on each other’s kids.
We can teach each other new languages.
We can respect traditions. We can build new ones.
You can ask for a cup of sugar. You can ask for directions.
You can tell me when things are hard.
You can tell me when beautiful things happen.
We can listen to stories.
We can disagree. We can agree.
We can come to understandings. You can wear what you want.
You can pray as you feel compelled to.
You can love who you want.
You can sit with us.
― Elizabeth Tambascio

Love Like Salt — Lisel Mueller

It lies in our hands in crystals too intricate to decipher
It goes into the skillet without being given a second thought
It spills on the floor so fine we step all over it
We carry a pinch behind each eyeball
It breaks out on our foreheads
We store it inside our bodies in secret wineskins
At supper, we pass it around the table
talking of holidays and the sea.

Tikkun Olam: In Jewish teachings, any activity that improves the world, bringing it closer to the harmonious state for which it was created. Tikkun olam implies that while the world is innately good, its Creator purposely left room for us to improve upon His work. All human activities are opportunities to fulfill this mission, and every human being can be involved in tikkun olam—child or adult, student or entrepreneur, industrialist or artist, caregiver or salesperson, political activist or environmentalist, or just another one of us struggling to keep afloat. — Chabad.org

Love Your Neighbor

You can be a follower of Muhammad or Jesus or Buddha or whomever. Always, they said that the most essential factor is to love your neighbor. And to love you. — Leo Buscaglia

Again and again I tell God I need help, and God says, ‘Well, isn’t that fabulous? Because I need help too. So you go get that old woman over there some water, and I’ll figure out what we’re going to do about your stuff.’ — Anne Lamott

You shall love your neighbor With your crooked heart, It says so much about love and brokenness — it’s perfect. ― John Green, Looking for Alaska

To be truly good means being a good neighbor. . . . And to be a good neighbor means recognizing that there are ultimately no strangers … Everybody is my neighbor!… Everybody is my brother! … We’re all connected. ― Brian D. McLaren

… teaches us to love ourselves in a wholesome manner by loving our neighbor. Indeed, even by loving our enemies – at least by trying to learn to love them, and by believing that it is right to do so. With grace this is possible. — Michael O’Brien

It’s very important to know the neighbor next door and the people down the street and the people in another race. — Maya Angelou

Sometimes a neighbor whom we have disliked a lifetime for his arrogance and conceit lets fall a single commonplace remark that shows us another side, another man, really; a man uncertain, and puzzled, and in the dark like ourselves. — Willa Cather

Spread love everywhere you go: First of all in your own house … let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness. — Mother Teresa

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But…the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”   ― Martin Luther King Jr.

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal … your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses … for in him also Christ ‘vere latitat’ – the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden. ― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

To love our neighbor as ourselves is such a truth for regulating human society, that by that alone one might determine all the cases in social morality. — John Locke

The impersonal hand of government can never replace the helping hand of a neighbor. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Love & Care for Self

When you are compassionate with yourself, you trust in your soul, which you let guide your life. Your soul knows the geography of your destiny better than you do. – John O’Donohue

Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean me first, it means me too. – L.R. Knost

In dealing with those who are undergoing great suffering, if you feel “burnout” setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long-term perspective. – Dalai Lama

And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good. – John Steinbeck

Lighten up on yourself. No one is perfect. Gently accept your humanness. – Deborah Day

Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves. – Nathaniel Branden
 
Self-discipline is self-caring. – M. Scott Peck

Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation … – Audre Lorde
 
If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete. – Jack Kornfield

People who love themselves come across as very loving, generous and kind; they express their self-confidence through humility, forgiveness and inclusiveness. – Sanaya Roman

When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water. – Benjamin Franklin
 
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. – Anne Lamott
 
Carve out and claim the time to care for yourself and kindle your own fire. – Amy Ippoliti
 
Anytime we can listen to true self and give the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch. – Parker J. Palmer
 
The perfect man of old looked after himself first before looking to help others.  – Chuang Tzu

Self Care is the secret ingredient to Soldier care in a recipe that yields many servings of effective leadership. – Donavan Nelson Butler

On Loving God

When the worst finally happens, or almost happens, a kind of peace comes. I had passed beyond grief, beyond terror, all but beyond hope, and it was thee, in that wilderness, that for the first time in my life I caught sight of something of what it must be like to love God truly. It was only a glimpse, but it was like stumbling on fresh water in the desert, like remembering something so huge and extraordinary that my memory had been unable to contain it. Though God was nowhere to be clearly seen, nowhere to be clearly heard, I had to be near him—even in the elevator riding up to her floor, even walking down the corridor to the one door among all those doors that had her name taped on it. I loved him because there was nothing else left. I loved him because he seemed to have made himself as helpless in his might as I was in my helplessness. I loved him not so much in spite of there being nothing in it for me but almost because there was nothing in it for me. For the first time in my life, there in that wilderness, I caught a glimpse of what it must be like to love God truly, for his own sake, to love him no matter what. If I loved him with less than all my heart, soul, and will, I loved him with at least as much of them as I had left for loving anything…
       I did not love God, God knows, because I was some sort of saint or hero. I did not love him because I suddenly saw the light (there was almost no light at all) or because I hoped by loving him to persuade him to heal the young woman I loved. I loved him because I couldn’t help myself. I loved him because the one who commands us to love is the one who also empowers us to love, as there in the wilderness of that dark and terrible time I was, through no doing of my own, empowered to love him at least a little, at least enough to survive. And in the midst of it, these small things happened that were as big as heaven and earth because through them a hope beyond hopelessness happened. “O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.”…
      The final secret, I think, is this: that the words “You shall love the Lord your God” become in the end less a command than a promise.” ― Frederick Buechner, A Room Called Remember: Uncollected Pieces

Love of God is not a thing which we produce in ourselves by excessive brooding or by self-hypnotism or by any other method. It is a permanent flame, slowly burning in the caverns of all our hearts. […] The basis of all religions is this love of God. For if this love of God were not vital to us, all that the great prophets have been trying to preach would have been unreal and futile. If it were not a real experience which in some sense is shared by us all, an experience which ennobles us and raises us far above the selfish pettinesses of life, no prophet and no religious deed would be able to appeal to our higher natures and establish the claims of religion. ― Surendranath Dasgupta, Hindu Mysticism

A necessary condition for interior peace, then, is what we might call goodwill. We could also call it purity of heart. It is the stable and constant disposition of a person who is determined more than anything to love God, who desires sincerely to prefer in all circumstances the will of God to his own, who does not wish to consciously refuse anything to God.  ― Jacques Philippe, Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart

… the test case for love of God is love of neighbour. The test case for love of neighbour is love of enemy. Therefore, to the extent we love neighbour and enemy, to that extent we love God. And to the extent we fail to love neighbour and enemy, we fail to love God. “Love” (agapao) is … action verb that constantly reaches out to embrace as friends, draw a circle of inclusion around neighbour and enemy (agape is the noun form, almost invariably referencing God’s unconditional love …). Therefore, the ultimate theological bottom line is: God is all-inclusive love. Period. ― Wayne Northey

On Loving Creation

One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken.
—Leo Tolstoy

You are called to care for creation not only as responsible citizens, but as followers of Christ! — Pope Francis

The Earth is what we all have in common. —Wendell Berry

God intends …. our care of Creation to reflect our care for the Creator. — John Stott

He that plants trees loves others besides himself. —Thomas Fuller

The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share. — Lady Bird Johnson

The Earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations. — Pope John Paul II

The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard. —Gaylord Nelson

What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on. —Henry David Thoreau

A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.—Franklin D. Roosevelt

The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for. —Ernest Hemingway

The proper use of science is not to conquer nature but to live in it. —Barry Commoner

We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the earth as its other creatures do. —Barbara Ward

Reflections on being light, being salt.

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , ,

Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. — Nelson Mandela

… you ARE salt. You. You are light. You have that of God within you … your imperfect and beautiful bodies are made of chemicals with holiness shining in it…you are made of dust and the very breath of God. — Nadia Bolz-Weber

In the sea of love, I melt like salt,
Faith, Doubt – they both dissolve.
A star is opening in my heart,
The worlds turn in it. ― Rumi

We cannot live in a world that is interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not a hope. Part of the terror is to take back our own listening. To use our own voice. To see our own light. —Hildegard of Bingen

Zen Verse — Dogen
Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water.
The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.
Although its light is wide and great,
The moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide.
The whole moon and the entire sky
Are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence actually liberates others.  – Marianne Williamson

SONGS about SALT & LIGHT

Other SALT media references:

  • Salt Song Trail Project about healing ceremony at a school site where Indigenous children were removed from their homes: https://vimeo.com/569132601

Love Like Salt — Lisel Mueller
It lies in our hands in crystals too intricate to decipher
It goes into the skillet without being given a second thought
It spills on the floor so fine we step all over it
We carry a pinch behind each eyeball
It breaks out on our foreheads
We store it inside our bodies in secret wineskins
At supper, we pass it around the table
talking of holidays and the sea.

When I consider how my light is spent,
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
‘Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?’
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, ‘God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.’
— John Milton

For Courage — John O’Donohue
When the light around you lessens
And your thoughts darken until
Your body feels fear turn
Cold as a stone inside,

When you find yourself bereft
Of any belief in yourself
And all you unknowingly
Leaned on has fallen,

When one voice commands
Your whole heart,
And it is raven dark,

Steady yourself and see
That it is your own thinking
That darkens your world.

Search and you will find
A diamond-thought of light,

Know that you are not alone,
And that this darkness has purpose;
Gradually it will school your eyes,
To find the one gift your life requires
Hidden within this night-corner.

Invoke the learning
Of every suffering
You have suffered.

Close your eyes.
Gather all the kindling
About your heart
To create one spark.
That is all you need
To nourish the flame
That will cleanse the dark
Of its weight of festered fear.

A new confidence will come alive
To urge you towards higher ground
Where your imagination
Will learn to engage difficulty
As its most rewarding threshold!

BE the LIGHT

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. – Edith Wharton

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. – Albert Schweitzer

As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way. – Mary Anne Radmacher

Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light. – Yogi Bhajan

Light is to darkness what love is to fear; in the presence of one the other disappears. – Marianne Williamson

Light must come from inside. You cannot ask the darkness to leave; you must turn on the light. – Sogyal Rinpoche

Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light. – Brene Brown

Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart. – Kahlil Gibran

I will love the light for it shows me the way. Yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars. – Og Mandino

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle. Happiness never decreases by being shared. – Buddha

Each of us is the light of the world—we are each an expression of the divine Light we call God, the Source of all life and all love. Our limited human natures are like the bushel basket—coverings that allow us to hide the Light within so completely that we ourselves forget it’s there. We’re not here in human form to ignore the Light, or to hide it so that no one else can see it. We’re here to be the Light—to let it shine everywhere, affirming the spiritual Presence and Power that is the energy of everything. It’s only by letting our own light shine that we can encourage others to uncover their own inner Light and join us in the spiritual work of creating a new consciousness. — UNity website (full article)

Light, my light, the world-filling light,
the eye-kissing light,
heart-sweetening light!

Ah, the light dances, my darling, at the center of my life;
the light strikes, my darling, the chords of my love;
the sky opens, the wind runs wild, laughter passes over the earth.

The butterflies spread their sails on the sea of light.
Lilies and jasmines surge up on the crest of the waves of light.

The light is shattered into gold on every cloud, my darling,
and it scatters gems in profusion.

Mirth spreads from leaf to leaf, my darling,
and gladness without measure.
The heaven’s river has drowned its banks
and the flood of joy is abroad.— Rabindranath Tagore

The Hill We Climb — Amanda Gorman

When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We’ve braved the belly of the beast
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while we once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it

Salt of the Earth (lyrics excerpt) — Rolling Stones
Let’s drink to the hard working people
Let’s drink to the lowly of birth …
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth …
Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children

Who burn the fires and who still till the earth …

Commentary on
BEING SALT of the EARTH

Jesus’ words … are meant to wake us, to remind us of what we carry in our bones: the living presence of the God who bids us be salt in this world in all our savory particularity; to be light in the way that only we can blaze. — Jan Richardson

We perhaps should not miss the fact that Jesus does not say “here are the conditions you must meet to be the salt of the Earth.” He does not say here are the standards of wholeness you must fulfill in order to be light for the world.  He looks out into the crowd of people in pain, people who have been broken open – those cracks that let in and let out the Light, who have the salt of sweat and tears on their broken bodies, and says you ARE salt. You. You are light. You have that of God within you the God whose light scatters the darkness. Your imperfect and beautiful bodies are made of chemicals with holiness shining in it…you are made of dust and the very breath of God. In other words, you are a broken jerk and Jesus trusts you. Don’t wait until you feel as though you have met the conditions of being holy. Trust that Jesus knows what he is doing. And that you already are salt and light and love and grace. Don’t try and be it. Know that you already are. And then, for the love of God, take that seriously. The world needs it. — Nadia Bolz-Weber

Jesus said the church should be the salt of the earth, and we need to remember the salt is not the food. He said we should be the leaven in the bread, and we are not the whole bread. The church, along the way, started thinking it was the whole bread, the whole food, but we’re just the salt and leaven. When the church operates as a small community of rooted and committed believers, then it makes a difference. From its minority position of integrity and truth, it is able to preach the Gospel. And that leaven is enough to “save” the world from self-destruction. — Richard Rohr

Salt is also an important image in the Buddhist canon, and this Christian teaching [salt of the earth] is equivalent to the Buddha’s teaching about sangha. The Buddha said that the water in the four oceans has only one taste, the taste of salt, just as his teaching has only one taste, the taste of liberation. Therefore the elements of sangha (community of practice) are the taste of life, the taste of liberation, and we have to practice in order to become the salt. — Thich Nhat Hanh

Jesus himself, as the gospel story goes on to its dramatic conclusion, lives out the same message of the Sermon on the Mount: he is the light of the world, he is the salt of the earth, he loves his enemies and gives his life for them, he is lifted up on a hill so that the world can see. — N. T. Wright

But these few are the salt of the earth; without them, human life would become a stagnant pool. Not only is it they who introduce good things which did not before exist, it is they who keep the life in those which already existed. — John Stuart Mill

Let yourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit to be the leaven of new life, salt of the earth and light of the world. — Pope Benedict XVI

Thoughts on SALT

Wonder is the salt of the earth. — M. C. Escher

Whoever you are, whatever you are, start with that, whether salt of the earth or only white sugar. — Alice Walker

I shivered in those solitudes when I heard the voice of the salt in the desert. ― Pablo Neruda

The percentage of salt in our bodies is very close to that of the ocean, so just how salty does that make us? — Len Fisher

In Rome… the soldier’s pay was originally salt and the word salary derives from it. — Pliny the Elder

I do not at all understand the mystery of grace–only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. It can be received gladly or grudgingly, in big gulps or in tiny tastes, like a deer at the salt.  ― Anne Lamott

A black person grows up in this country – and in many places – knowing that racism will be as familiar as salt to the tongue. Also, it can be as dangerous as too much salt. I think that you must struggle for betterment for yourself and for everyone. — Maya Angelou

Seas were meant to be sailed by those with salt in their veins, and love in their heart. ― Anthony T. Hincks

Any conviction worth its salt has chosen to cohabit with a piece of mystery. All of our traditions insist on a reverence for what we do not know now and cannot tie up with explanation in this lifetime. This is an invitation to bring the particularities and passions of our identities into common life, while honoring the essential mystery and dignity of the other … — Krista Tippett

In ancient Rome, it was salt and not money that was used for commerce or trading. The soldiers who worked for the Roman empire got a handful of salt in return as their payment each day. This is where the common saying of “being worth one’s salt” comes from. Soldiers who did a good job were worth the salt they earned. — Roshni

For it is not needful, to use a common proverb, that one should drink up the ocean who wishes to learn that its water is salt. ― Irenaeus of Lyons

… you just add a pinch. Salt brings out all the flavors … It’s weird, isn’t it? How something so opposite of sweet can make things taste even better? ― Cecilia Galante

Idiom … In 77AD Pliny the Elder (a natural philosopher under The Roman Empire) translated an ancient cure to poison, in which he wrote “to be taken fasting, plus a grain of salt”. This suggested that bad effects could be counteracted by a grain of salt. The more metaphorical meaning – that incorrect information might be made easier to accept by ‘taking it with a grain of salt’ – did not become widely used until much later, in the 17th Century. For example, in 1647 John Trapp said of his own writing “This is to be taken with a grain of salt”. More recently, the idiom has been modified from a grain of salt to a pinch of salt, and we can now use either grain or pinch in this saying. — Take It With a Grain of Salt, excerpt from article by Bloomsbury International

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