Who is to blame

Let's walk through history

The cruel charismatic dictators

The chess-playing map-drawing colonialists

The wealth-seeking explorers

The holier-than-thou heathen- defining believers

The tribal territory-driven survivalists

On and on and on

Etc etc etc

Who is to blame

At some point it behooves us to stop the blame game

To sit down and get real

Compr...

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Turn on the faucet

water flows

Open the heart

love flows

The dance of life

is awash with blessings

We forget because we are blinded by the storms

Remember my sweet friends

the rainbow always arrives

the sky never completely falls

Believe in heaven on earth

one day

Why not?

It's sweeter than doomsday

And if doomsday arrives

remember my sweet friends

w...

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These are my slippers

I like them

They are cosy

They are probably made overseas

by some kind person working hard

I bought them at the little mailbox store across the street

owned by the nice friendly older (like me) couple

The vibe is they are conservative and I am liberal

But we like each other

"Live and let live"

Amen and halleluiah

The underside of my soft ...

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1.  Once Again

Anger is a creature that lives within us

like a fiery dragon

Don't run from it

Use its heat to cleanse

every last remnant

of what you don't want

Dress yourself in white garments

and walk down to the river

Water cools the burning

All is healed

The anger dissipates,

the embers shine soft

Flow into the river of life 

peaceful, once again

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Let us draw no lines in the sand,

my friends,

let us not inquire "whose side are you on?"

We have no need for fences,

or endless sharp divisions,

no, my friends, we need only extend the hand of friendship,

we need only meet eye to eye

in that sweet place of commonality.

You are you and I am I,

and that is enough--

our shared humanness--

that is enough.

Let us ju...

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Before they left their bodies

and moved into the light,

they met each other.

Perhaps it was a cleansing of sorts,

a lightening of burdens.

He survived the harbor bombing;

his neighbor survived the "enemy" internment camp.

He hung to floating debris in oil-slicked waters;

his neighbor found a friend to safeguard his farm while he was interned.

When they were both old...

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Okay this is a little complicated

but I think I'm slowly figuring this out.

It's just so counter-intuitive!

But as I sort it out in my heart and mind, it starts making sense.

It starts becoming simple. 

It begins to feel powerful.

It feels wonderful.

Here it is.

Jesus said: love your enemies.

How does this help?

How does this move the needle towards prosperity an...

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My neighbor told me that talking about politics with her family (divided) makes her stomach hurt

I don't talk much about politics

Reading about politics makes my head spin*

I live in the micro but try to understand the macro

Big picture thinking

Little picture living

I do not understand much

So I just keep on living

Where is the joy?

When the micro and the macro unify

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What in the dickens is going on?

"It was the best of times,

it was the worst of times."

When I was a little girl growing up in the 1960's, 

there were (mostly) only white men

newscasters,

lawyers,

politicians,

soldiers,

corporate bosses,

ministers,

and on and on,

you know, the ones who led the way, the warriors at the pinnacle of society.

By the time I got to...

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I.  Just Us 

She donned her marching shoes (comfy tennies actually) 

put on a bright shirt

and out she went to the streets,

neon homemade placard in hand.

She prayed for peace for all, no violence.

She knew she could be shot dead.

But she could die in bed

of a brain bleed too!

No fear, no hate, 

and, she reminded herself,

no "us against them."

Just us.

The sh...

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Things collapse

and we rebuild them

Things explode

and we pick up the pieces

Things fall apart

and we put them back together

This is the nature of being

This is the nature of survival

This is the nature of regeneration

On this complex magnificent planet

on this spinning orb of magma and crystalline rock

the upheavals are often catastrophic

throwing us out of our...

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This is the time of winter,

when all is stark and bare.

This is the time of sadness,

when all is dark and cold.

When will the sun return?

We wait while the birds are silent,

when will hearts thaw?

We wait with patient ardor,

Love love love love

melts the snow,

nourishes the soil,

and the flowers bloom.

This is the time of Spring,

it always arrives,

elated.

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If I love you with the fierceness of a hurricane,

will that be enough to save you from life's fury?

If I love you with the wildness of a blazing fire,

will that be enough to shelter you from life's despair?

Can the depth of my love carry you over life's mountains and lift you from life's valleys?

Can the breadth of my love release you from all life's pain and sorrow?

Can I love y...

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