work

A Light in The World

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What does it take

to be A Light in the World,

to accept the sacred invitation

to truly make flesh The Word?

A sprawling, often lonely,

task

that will inevitably

ask

the removal of all human

masks.

There’s no hiding,

only faithfully abiding;

Seeing the world

differently;

expanding consciousness to foreign

possibilities,

such as loving all brothers

unconditionally.

One will need to forgive,

to always relieve grievances.

No space for judgment and blame,

for pettiness and thoughts criminally insane.

Only the remembrance that we are all

fundamentally

the same.

A formidable call

to be A Light in The World,

to sow seeds of peace

in the Minds of the All.

Not for the faint-hearted, this role.

Indeed, many flounder and fall,

the ones who think themselves insignificant

and very small,

who know not how

to stand erect and tall.

Much is given to A Light in the World.

This path, once chosen,

one does not walk alone.

Vision, wisdom and extraordinary might,

all bequeathed to A Light,

all needed to keep up the human fight

that rages

within and without

day and night.

A Light

ultimately

returns home, to Love

remembers its function

is guided

only

by things holy and Above.

Monday

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It is Monday,

a blank page,

a clean slate.

The day to exfoliate,

slough off the old skin,

the things that weigh down

and only deaden.

It is Monday,

the start of a new week,

bringing with it

opportunities to seek

the Light and beauty

in all we meet.

It is Monday,

a day of reflection

to answer the questions

for self-manifestation.

We ponder in silence

asking our God for His Guidance.

My Lord,

what to sow?

who to know?

when to go?

where to grow?

why so slow?

It is Monday,

the time to do over

to try again

for that four-leaf clover.

Another chance

to alter one’s circumstance,

to self-enhance

and awake from long trance.

Sun Salutations

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Dawn of a new day-

hooray!

Awake!

Give thanks!

Pray!

As within,

so without.

Morning meditations

strengthen thy House.

No perceived stress felt.

Mind, heart, body –

all aligned,

all in exquisite rest.

Work flows smoothly.

Everything moves so easily.

All that is seen is beauty,

even in this, the

big

busy

City.

No cacophony,

just sweet melodies.

No hurry,

only curiosity.

Frowns turned upside down;

smiles abound.

Gratitude, shared and found.

I see you, you see me.

Namaste,

we are a family!

No self-recrimination,

no regrets;

only admission

one did one’s best.

And so,

the stage is set

for when

dusk is met.

Peaceful sleep

will thee meet

with this day complete.

 

Slow-

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I tend to go slow,

ever slightly dipping a toe.

Rarely rolling full out,

rather feeling…asking:

is it all right

or am I tight?

Doing the due diligence,

leaning heavily on Universal Intelligence.

Looking for flow;

getting to the Know;

hearing the Soul.

Letting it marinate,

low heat, slow pace-

this Taurus’ way.

 

From without,

them trying to me re-arrange,

and cast shadows of deep doubt.

They say:

“Way too slow, G.

You need to heed–

gotta move, gotta now go!

Don’t you know

life’s too short-

here one minute,

the next, poof, abort.”

 

Yeah, but…

I am me.

Please let it be.

Don’t need more anxiety.

The Birth will come…

eventually,

organically,

when fully ready.

 

To each, their own.

We sing our unique songs-

some short & fast,

others slow & long.

No right, no wrong.

Beauty

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Beauty…

of,

begotten from

humanity,

moves me always to tears,

unearthing my deepest joys, aches, and fears.

mixed in is great gratitude and awe,

an appreciation of what some Souls came here for.

Therein lies the source of the pain,

that is a profound yearning to do the same:

To the world, contribute Beauty in His Name.

Beauty inspired and informed by spirituality

with the intention of transformative ministry.

Beauty in all its many forms;

Beauty beyond limited social norms;

Beauty that Heart melts & warms.

Beauty that consciousness expands,

that makes great demands

of its adoring beholder:

risk for a Life that is richer & ever bolder!

 

 

 

magnum opus

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the color purple, seminal chef d’oeuvre Alice birthed;

roots by Alex helped African-Americans define our place here on this complicated Earth;

revelations, the glorious masterpiece Alvin conceived, changed forever how dance is perceived;

i have a dream, Dr. King presciently declared to a young nation its mandate laid bare;

like these fellow humans extraordinaire,

do we all, too, have deep inside a magnum opus to share –

some work of great resonance and immediacy

one channeled through us mysteriously and thoroughly

to awaken, enlighten, and inspire humanity

so as to foster lasting peace and unity

and help alleviate suffering, injustice and egregious inequality?

affirmative, i believe

as this may be the reason why we are here now and live.

our masterwork may manifest itself as

a seemingly subtle deed

or via the birth of a divine human being.

for some, an idea whose time has finally and suddenly been fashioned;

for others, an action or creation born of deliberate and obsessive passion.

it may be immediately recognized

or, initially, widely despised and reviled.

alas, we humans can be so naïve and blind.

what is your magnum opus–

is it in the past

or do you feel it coming up for air and light at very last?

will you discern it as such

or cavalierly, insecurely dismiss it as mere fluff?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home is…

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…where the Heart resides

…where the Soul flies

…where Love prevails

…where authentic connectedness cures all (or most) of what ails

…where one’s Spirit is finally free and can exhale

…where all pretense and the burdensome masks give way

…where your Tribe comes out to play

…where one’s many Songs are sung

…where creativity simply for its own sake is not so far-flung

…where Life is a little smoother around the edge

…where thoughts don’t constantly veer frighteningly toward The Ledge

Home is…

…the Peace that surpasses all understanding

…the Path Not yet Taken

…the constant Prayer seemingly unanswered

…the blissful state of feeling favored

…the real Me birthed and seen

…the Mystery, revealed

…the yellow-brick Road less Traveled

…the ultimate Goal unraveled

 

 

Off The Wall

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Livin’ crazy that’s the only way. So tonight gotta leave that nine to five upon the shelf. And just enjoy yourself. Groove, let the madness in the music get to you
Life ain’t so bad at all
If you live it off the wall

Off The Wall, the album and song by the incomparable and prodigiously talented, very definition of icon, Michael Jackson. Just a few days ago, in the midst of stumbling across a documentary about Michael’s journey to the making of this extraordinary album, I was literally transported way back in time, back to my prepubescent self. I recalled with stunning (and somewhat terrifying) clarity my dancing in my room with cousins and sisters, clinging to the Off the Wall album, holding it (Michael) close to my chest, singing along to every word on an album that I must have listened to hundreds of times – I could not get enough of Michael – his beautiful and perfect voice seemed to be speaking directly to and into me.

Bon Dieu the power of scent, food and music to return us to another time in our life – years, decades earlier as if no time had passed. We see, hear, taste all exactly as it was. A reminder that we carry all of the different iterations of ourselves within our selves. Nothing is ever really lost or forgotten. The body and Soul store it all and bring it rushing back to us with just the right trigger. Nothing we can do when that chain reaction commences – just hold on, just let it be. Resistance is indeed very futile.

Even as we go back, we eventually return to the present Moment with a new appreciation for the trigger that took us back. When I journeyed back from prepubescence to middle age me, it was as if my eyes had suddenly opened. I could see. There was a renewed relevance to the lyrics of Off the Wall; nuances I could better grasp and appreciate.

Life ain’t so bad at all, if you live it off the wall..

I have never in my life felt “normal.” Even as a child, I could not verbalize that feeling, but I felt it. Something ain’t quite right; I am not like others my age. Well over thirty years later, very little has changed in that sentiment. Now, with “maturity,” I am more accepting of Self than I was back then. This is me, this is it. Take it or leave it.

Life ain’t so bad at all, if you live it off the wall..

I continue to do my best to live my life on the wall (I suppose one would say), keeping myself on the straight and narrow and traditional. Such a responsible path has always felt so utterly and painfully uncomfortable for me, like a straitjacket, like wings clipped, and Spirit dampened.

Life ain’t so bad at all, if you live it off the wall..Live your life off the wall (live it off the wall)

Michael’s words, his commandment to live life off the wall ran through me, washed over me, and continue to reverberate to this Moment. It felt, feels like I am being given permission (finally) to just me authentically me.

Live your life off the wall

A clarion call for me, if ever there was one…Indeed, there is no other choice really. One must be who one really is, lest one dries up like a raisin in the sun, to quote another Great One. Deep in my heart, I believe we are each here, each wonderfully and fiercely crafted to do a particular job for our World. This special role is the byproduct only of authenticity.

Groove, let the madness …{Of Your} music get {in}to you
Life ain’t so bad at all, If you live it off the wall

Not only is life ain’t so bad at all, it is bliss to be you, to be true, to fully self-actualize and gift our World with our unique magnificence. At first glimpse, it may indeed appear that such a life is off the wall. Difference/uniqueness elicit such intense unease in humans. We tend to favor predictability, matters and people placed neatly on the wall where we can easily digest, understand and deem safe – even if on some level we know this safety is a grand illusion. Artists like MJ, provocateurs in our midst both revered and reviled, remind us/warn us of the precariousness of our illusions and whisper in our ears what our Souls (our true Selves) already know…

Livin’ crazy that’s the only way. So tonight gotta leave that nine to five upon the shelf. And just {be} yourself.  Groove, let the madness …{Of Your} music get {in}to you.
Life ain’t so bad at all
If you live it off the wall

The Vicissitude of Life

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“All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.” – Ellen Glasgow

I made a change not to long ago. Took a leap of great Faith to make a move. This was the intention, a top resolution for 2014: move forward, change for the sole sake of growth.

For about one month, it felt as if the goal was achieved, the mission accomplished. I was professionally energized as I had not been in a very long time – fully engaged, hopeful about the creative possibilities for growth and forward movement – the most important motivators in my life. My Heart felt expansive and soft, fully open. Maybe – for the first time in my professional career – I found home, a home I had been searching for likely from the Moment I opened my eyes to this World from the warmth and comfort of the Womb.I remember feeling such a sense of deep peace, happiness, hopefulness, and joy.Thinking back now, most grateful I am to have been conscious enough to savor every beautiful Moment of those rich and delicious feelings – those Moments of pure Light. Perhaps, on some level, I knew that the Pendulum of Life would – as it always does – swing to the other direction, the dark.

And it did.

In the course of one conversation, one Moment, every thing changed! And the perceived hits just kept coming.

“All change is not growth…all movement is not forward.”

Now, I am left with only questions:

Was I in denial (ignorance as bliss)?

I thought I did my homework and due diligence. Yet, were there signs I  missed along the way, things I could not allow myself to fully see, questions I feared asking of them and of me?

Where do I go from here?

How to not merely hold on, but thrive in this seemingly bleak and barren landscape?

How do I navigate life as it is in this Moment in a way that does not lead me to the exact same and tired place – yet again? What do I do different, see, hear, be and think different?

How do I create and attract change that is real growth and movement that is indeed forward?

How do I manifest what are truly my intentions in life?

What inside of me is keeping me from self actualizing, from flying higher and fully living my Bliss?

What is going on beneath my surface, in that subconscious realm that is me stymieing me? For it is as the great Carl Jung noted: “When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate.”

What are the lessons in this Moment of perceived darkness? The lessons I must learn (and re-learn) to have that Pendulum of Life swing the other way again, the way to the Light, the Light that will sustain and feed me when its partner, the dark, swings back?