Your Trick Bag

Old leather or new; bound up and all of the goodies rolling around in it, clinking around as you move through life. The 'stuff' of some of it touches other parts and exchanges power and energy. Others aren't as giving, and wait for you to reach in your hand to pull them out, unchanged. They will release upon your verbal command, or in the way you apply their power. Some elements are deadly, but sometimes, the solution to "life's problems" is The End.

We look and observe these limited bodies and wrongly perceive that we are as limited. But a story told before it came to pass, is that God is plentiful and stores his best in "jars of clay." He places in skin and bones, what cannot be named, will not stay confined. And when it is time, he not only reclaims it, he makes it special and unique and it more than it was when it rattled around in these old skin bags!

We are more! Far more than the skin portrays. But in placing the divine in flesh, Flesh is more than we would be. We are made in God's image and placed in bodies, on the ground, next to one another. We are permitted to love and hate, to cherish and destroy. And in living this life, we experience, both light and dark; the two cross lines and exchange energies in ways that defy our short-sighted cultural biases.

My friend: Look up and Live!

The Value of One

Numbers count,

Duh!

Numbers matter

They are matter

They give value

They give weight

Measuring size

And distance

And where you are from me

And I am from her

Numbers tell us things

We use them to tell us about me

And about they guy sitting in his space 9537 kilometers away

We use numbers

Exponential numbers to indicate we should listen to this artist

Or to see this dancer

But there is a number we overlook

The one we forget about as we stumble out the door

Trying to be there by 8:10 (7:55 looks like you're trying too hard)

One

Just One

Not you and me

But One

One me

One you

One God

One ALL

Not "all" as in 2 billion people inhabiting the planet

But ONE

Thought for The Day - As it is in Heaven

...so it is on earth.

We are concerned with the measurable, the obtainable, the glitter and the satisfying. And yet there is far more to our world and the world that cannot be seen. About a month ago, I bought a male, blue betta fish, also known as Siamese fighting fish. Alone in a gallon or more tank, his blue fins are tranquil and calming as he swims around. But my son has a male betta as well and it only takes putting them 'near' one another to see how violent they can be. There is a flaring of an area below their gills as the first acknowledgement of the other male. Then the tails get to waving around like giant flags and they beat against the glass as a threat to the other male in the other tank. We would never put them together because with these males, it is always a fight to the finish! But a typical day, they are beautiful creatures, swimming around in their own world. From the videos I've seen, they are excellent fathers as well, taking care of the eggs of their offspring and then caring for the hatchlings.

We come into this world and leave with the same desire: sustenance and connection. And somewhere along the way, we find ways to fill our lives with dull substitutes for the same. We are beings of such beauty and when soft words, movements and acts of passion and love are displayed, it is pure poetry in motion. And yet, behind that nature lies a part of us that "bristles up" when someone like us - perhaps we believe another like us is a rival - comes around. Oh, we have learned to calm ourselves, but let us spend too much time together, and we look for ways to outshine one another. This is true of both the "male" and "female" of our kind. And yet we are capable of an unlimited creative expressions and acts of love! If our news media ever gets a clue, there are as many stories of kindness occurring each day, perhaps we could balance out our fears, if we heard those stories as well! Have you ever watched a family with a new baby? Have you seen how the mother brings them into a room full of relatives? Even men soften at the presence of a baby and love to hold and coo with them!

There is so much going on in the world, seen and unseen. There are energies and forces happening in the visible, tangible world as well the world we don't see. While there is conflict and destruction, there is a birth, life and constant rebuilding. Search your heart and inventory your life: haven't you seen the evidence that you are capable of both beauty and destruction? Have you not seen that you are capable of tender care as well as rage? Final thought: with so much at stake and so much life-affirming possibility, what is the wisest expression you can make? Consider...

Thought for The Day - Human

Filtered Divinity

We do a great deal of comparisons among "people." We compare whites to blacks, men to women, children to adults, etc. By highlighting our distinctions, we emphasize our perspective, our point of view. But here's an interesting perspective: we're all human.

So often when comparing races, we emphasize habits and stereotypes that are "exclusive" to one group. Certainly, there are cultural differences, especially as we are more exposed to countries and people we're not familiar with. But here's the thing: people are always people. The same way love and hate is expressed in one culture, it is expressed in another. One race or group of people will not be better "behaved" because of past circumstances. And while NO ONE should kill anyone else, it happens among people daily! Black on black crime occurs as frequent as white on white crime and and any other group. It is the "human" condition.

But realize, while we are emphasizing the negative aspects of our existence, realize there are far more people "building" our societies, i.e. maintaining and striving to make it better. And we're doing it without realizing it. When people are working in jobs and businesses and taking pictures of children and women and men, they are emphasizing this 'humanity' in ways that highlight our strengths and courage. When people go to mundane jobs each day, doing work that "feeds the masses," guess what? The masses are fed, housed, clothed and cared for! Certainly, the processes can be done in better less "polluted" ways, but it's being done. And when we strive to take care of one another in better ways, we are being better "humans."

Hope these words help you feel better about our place in this world.