Labor Day

when i think of All

the pains and strains

this Planet and It's People

have labored through

the graven injustices 

the brazen inequities

and shameful inequalities

i wonder if it all

will stretch our Bodies

and very Being

beyond the curious quaking

and spurious shaking 

into our very breaking

demanding Energy beyond

which We can expend

but then i'm reminded

of how our Bodies

are created with capacities

not only to stretch 

but to expand

both to endure

and to secure

Life growing within

and how a tiny

yet Transcendent Universe

takes shape behind

a membrane so thin

a Space the Mystics

describe as the Meeting Place

of Human and Divine

Heaven on Earth

struggling into Growth

staggering through Labor

(which is not in vain)

into the Day

to give Birth

to a new Creation

a Beloved Communion

where all of Nature

is actually our Neighbor

haggling with the Creator

for a better deal

a less painful wheel

upon which to spin

a new Web of Welcome

a fragile Masterpiece 

which contains All

of the gratuitous Grace

and lascivious Love

pouring out in cries

of unbridled Laughter

in the Here and Now

as an ordinarily extraordinary

Taste of the Hereafter

as Sighs of Spirit

resound among and around

Us All as We

bask in the Beauty

and grasp at the Glory

and gasp in the Presence

of One Little Miracle

that emerged from Us

(and in essence IS Us)

wordlessly and breathlessly

in Wonder of It All...

Let It Be.

#250wordprayers #LaborDay2025 #MayOurLaborNotBeInVain #WeAreBirthingSomethingThatHasNeverFullyExistedBefore #WeAreTheBelovedCommunity #WeAreLoved #WeAreLove

('The Womb of the World' © Kelly Kruse)

Down & Dirty

i used to have an aversion

to getting down & dirty

not because of potential diversions

into being playful & flirty

(complete with catcalls & whistles)

but the possibility 

of getting trapped 

in the thistles 

of terror and trauma

inflicted and incurred

on the way down

but maybe there is

an opportunity as we are

grinded down in the dirt

of hatred and hurt

to be reminded

that We are made

of the same Stuff

the Sacred Soil

into which we have descended

and out of which

we have emerged and ascended

and rather than seeing

the Divine Dirt

as territorial turf

to be defended

maybe we could enact

a faithful Freeing

of our fears

as they are befriended

and shift the gears

of the maniacal machinery

keeping us apart

and melt the weapons

into Instruments of Peace

and revise the rantings

into Refrains of Release

and Transform the state

where hate goes low

with the Love

that goes Lower

into the depths

of the Heart

and raises Us 

All Higher like 

a Pillar of Fire

the Light of the World

that We are

in the Totality

of Our Being...

may this Be

the Ultimate Version

of our Conversion.

Amen.

#200wordprayers #GoLowerInLoveToLiftHigherInHope

('Deep Rooted' © Seby Augustine)

'70'

some say Life 

is mostly making up

a song and dance

'it's all for show

it's all a game

of random chance'

but you two

have Lived your Lives

individually and communally

Gracefully and Faithfully

in such Real Ways

that reveal the more

Meaningful Melodies

and Heartfelt Harmonies

in the Sacred Song

the more Magnificent Movements

and Revelatory Rhythms

of the Divine Dance 

and helped so many

to raise their voices

and move their bodies

individually and communally

Gracefully and Faithfully 

and join together

in that Cosmic Choir

of Creation

and our Creator

that Eternal Ensemble

that exalts

the Majesty and Glory

of the Name

above all names 

all whilst balancing

two vocations and

three little relations

with one Hand

in one Heart

celebrating every June

naming every tune

facing every sunrise

embracing every moon

climbing every mountain

fording every stream

of challenging circumstance

with ebullient Endurance

and resilient Romance

and asking each other

time and time again

with a wink

and a glance

'Shall We Sing?

Shall We Dance?'

Seventy years on

you both continue

to Sing your Song

of Everlasting Love

and with deep gratitude

for each Day

and each Ray

of Light from Above

We Joyfully join you

and Sing along...

(Happy 70th Anniversary, dear Mom & Dad...i love you...brian)

(First pic is their engagement portrait, 1955...Second pic is from their 70th anniversary celebration, 2025...and PS...they 'celebrate every June' b/c their birthdays are 9 and 18 June 1933, respectively :)

#70YearsDoingAnythingIsAmazing #But70YearsDoingLifeTogetherInLoveIsMiraculous 

spinning faster

so Today 

will apparently

be shorter

than Yesterday

(we're talking

mere milliseconds)

because Our

Miraculous Home

is revolving

at speeds

measurably higher

than usual

for reasons

more Mysterious

than scientists

can explain

perhaps it

is due

to shrinking

icecaps upon

or slowing

magma within

our Earth

but regardless

it feels

like our

whirling Planet

might be

sending us

swirling signs

in these

trying seasons

to remind

our hurtling

Minds and

hurting Hearts

that reacting

to changes

that reflect

more how

we're evolving 

than devolving

in ways

more heartless

than harmless

is impacting

our Bodies

and Beings

our Psyches

and Spirits

(reverting Us

into whirling

dervishes of

swirling nervousness

curdling our

blood rather

than cradling

our Belovedness)

so what

if taking

some time

to stop

spinning faster

towards potentially

fatal disaster

(we're talking

mere nanoseconds)

and Pause

and Breathe

and Remember

and Believe

that our

innately Divine

Worth is

immeasurably Higher

than our

fears will

ever factor

(resisting the

irrepressible temptation

to lash

out in

fright and

fatefully plaster 

Each Other

with blame

and shame)

We might

Respectfully refrain

Faithfully shine

our Light

and lavish

Each Other

with Love

that leads

to All

of Us

enacting a

New Birth

where We

end up

Winning faster

with Redemptive

Joy and

Restorative Justice

and Grinning 

Laughter in

the Sacred

Unity of

Beloved Community

We are

in the

Gloriously Radiant

Here and

Now and

Forever After?

Let It Be.

(Inspired by this phenomenon that occurred today... https://www.space.com/astronomy/earth/earth-will-spin-faster-on-july-22-to-create-2nd-shortest-day-in-history)

#235wordprayers #PausingInParadise #SlowingDownInTheSpirit #ReconnectingWithTheRhythm #RediscoveringJoyForTheJourney #WeAreStillOne 

Incarnation of Interdependence

on this Day

when We celebrate

Our declaration

of Independence

from tyranny

may we (re)dedicate

Our Selves to

Our Incarnation

of Interdependence

in Liberty

the Sacred You-and-Me

that constitutes 

the Beloved Community

welcoming All Beings

huddled and Hallowed

yearning to Breathe Free

seeing no strangers

but only Parts

of Our Hearts

and Our Selves We

have not met yet

and may We

never forget

that living out

Revolutionary Love

involves giving up

convolutionary fear

(which devolves Us

into heartlessly shaming

and disgracing each other)

and revolves around

laying down arms

of desperate violence

and opening up Arms

of Infinite Silence

which empowers Us

into Heartfelt sharing

and embracing Each Other

as the One Body

of Divine Love

We already Are

Breathing and Being

and needing Each Other

and greeting each Day

as the Gift

It already Is

where we Celebrate

our Interconnection

as One Cosmically

(In)Carnal Reality...

Let It Be.

#150wordprayers #HappyInterdependenceDay2025 #TodayWeCelebrate #TomorrowAndEachDayForwardWeBreatheAndPushAndIncarnateAndDemonstrateRevolutionaryLove

('Statue of Liberty' © Otis Porrit)

more Love than fears (for 35 Years)

Thirty-five years

of more Love

and Laughter

than fears

(though plenty

of tears for

situational sorrows

and relational Joy)

have left me

with fewer words

and more Wonder

at what Love

has joined together

that no one

or no thing

has rent asunder

all that might

have destroyed

and buried Us

the blunders

and thunders

of brokenness

and unspokenness

the flurries

of worries

about narrowing finalities

and harrowing Realities

and the uncertainties

of imagined tomorrows

the many things

that could drive 

Us down onto

the wailing Floor

that can also

remind Us

of the prevailing

Flow beneath Us

and between Us

that empowers Us

to authentically Adore

and dovetailingly Engage

in this erratic

and Ecstatic Dance

the Resurrectional Rhythm

of the Love

that married Us

to Each Other

and deployed Us

to bear It

and share It

with All Others

that leaves Us

with this chance

to offer up

Thirty-five Cheers

and Sighs

and Laughs

and (Hope-fully)

many more...

Thanks.

#160wordprayers #FourFortyWordPrayersForOneAndThreeQuarterScoreYearsOfLifeConceivedInTheLibertyOfLove #HalfOfSeventyAccordingToPoppy #35YearsGetsYouStephanieInnAtCannonBeach #LoveYouKLM

puddles and muddles...Ripples and Revelations (*Memorial Day 2025)

Sitting alone on a rainy Monday.

Memorial Day.

A day to remember all those who have given their lives in the service of their country, bravely and sacrificially engaging in the tragic and seemingly unavoidable human irony of 'fighting for Peace'.

Looking out my front window from my candlelit desk.

Jotting some very random thoughts onto a very regulated (lined) note pad.

And then something unexpected caught my eye and captured my attention for a few fleeting moments.

A blue jay.

It's brilliant plumage puncturing the grimy grey of the stormy day.

Landing on a yard of recently roto-tilled dirt dotted with newly-planted bushes and trees.

Hopping its merry way over the humus. pecking at the peat moss. scratching away at the surface of the soil. searching for some seeds.

And plopping into a puny, provisional 'pond' on the edge where the sidewalk and soil meet.

The puddle having appeared as the result of a sprinkler head snapping off and water slowly seeping into the ground.

For the faithful keepers of the grounds and myself, a minor annoyance soon to be remedied by a remodeled drip irrigation system.

For the blue jay, a bounteous, blessed basin in which to bathe.

A makeshift millpond of mud in which to be washed.

Face refreshed, feathers flushed, and flying away in a matter of seconds.

And wee, winsome waves, remnants from rustling wings, gently rippling through the water.

i encounter a puddle appearing in the 'wrong' place resulting from a human-made system breaking down. and all i can see is a 'problem' to be solved by more human-made ingenuity.

A bird sees some dirty water that can make her clean.

People experience circumstances in life and brokenness in humanity that create caverns of confusion and conundrums of conflict, tiny puddles of pain in our psyches that transform into tumultuous torrents of muddle in our souls. And all we seem to do is rage against the machinery that has mangled our manifest destinies, and then manufacture new machinery to counteract those maniacal powers that have seemingly harrowed our hopes and destroyed our dreams.

Nature seems to face circumstances as they come, and simply works with whatever life provides to move forward.

We live to eat and fight for Peace.

A bird eats to live and flies in Peace.

And i'm reminded that the extent to which we are willing to give our lives is connected to what is essential in order to live our lives.

And that the sordid squalor in which we so often wallow and wrestle could actually be the Sacred Sanctuary in which we more often Wander and Wonder.

And that a tiny ripple in an inadvertent puddle can be the catalyst of remembrance, and contain the Reverberations of Revelation. 

(NOTE: This is NOT the one that landed in my yard. For once, i was too busy actually paying attention to and engaging in the life right before my eyes rather than distracting myself by trying to 'capture' it, and missing the Revelations that came enfolded in its curious careening.

(*Written on Memorial Day 2013...and for some reason, not published until Memorial Day 2025)