Blossoming (Earth Day 2024)

while our beautiful Home

wheezes and moans

and our Beloved Humanity

sneezes and groans

may our suggestive sighing

and congestive crying

be transformed into collective

singing and shining

of breezes and birds

and trees and terrestrials

caring and sharing

in Awesome Reciprocity

and Blossoming Luminosity

beyond describing in words...

Thanks.

#50wordprayers #EarthDay2024 #CreationCaringAndSharing #ListeningToOurMotherAndLovingOurHome #PeopleAndPlanetAreOne

('Portland in Bloom' © Lisa Sofia Robinson)

Speechless

soaring over surging Surf

and raging Sea

and rugged Ranges 

where my circumstances 

have taken me

(like lovely Laguna

and awesome Avila

and magnificent Mendocino)

rearranges my perspective

on horrific passages

along the Journey

where it felt

like my Creator

and my sanity

had forsaken me

(supposedly and suddenly)

since the Gifts

of distance and Time

are illuminating me

to surprisingly see

how the Journey

of blustering betrayal

and blistering brokenness

became a Pathway

to Graciously reveal

how facing blame

and embracing shame

and savouring Belovedness

through wavering Faithfulness

in a Sacred Shower

from Beyond and Within

are rejuvenating me

and opening me

to the Power

to slowly recover

and gradually Heal

and yet amazingly

the persistent urging

from towering Trees

and breathtaking Beaches

to somehow sing

this new Song

articulating this Transcendent

and Transformative Reality

of unlimited Love

ultimately leaves me

tearfully (not fearfully)

Tongue-tied and Speechless...

Thank You.

#150wordprayers #Eastertide2024 #TheJourneyIsWhereTheHealingHappens #TheChallengesRevealOpportunities #TheDestinationsBecomeTheLocationsForCelebrations

(*Picture: The perspective of my current destination from 35,000 feet, after having traveled over several of my former destinations on a gloriously clear and sunny day)

Seconds

whether it's an extra

helping of dessert

(like my Dad

requests and enjoys

at every meal)

or precious brief glimpses

(usually in Threes)

of a Beloved

no longer breathing

next to us

(but still part

of the Breath)

appearing to us

whilst we're awakening

(startling and shaking us

blessing and breaking us

like the Breeze)

or the bonus moments

to cherish Those

whose recollective abilities

are slowly fading

but innate sensibilities

for familiar jocularities

and tearful Mysteries

of collective memories

are as surprisingly

sharp and intact

as ever before

the simple Seconds

savoured and shared

(even when we're

feeling scattered and

shattered and scared)

are in fact

the most Sacred

and sensational Gifts

we ever receive

since They appear

in the midst

of our fear

of the daunting

Here and Now

as temporal Signs

of Eternal Realities

Ordinary Oracles of

Extraordinary Love in

the Forever More...

Thanks.

#150wordprayers #UnimiaginableGiftsFromInimitableBeloveds #BeautifulLegaciesOfBoundlessLove

(*Photo from sharing a few Sacred Seconds with my parents receiving the blessing from Easter Worship  at my church, Moreland Presbyterian in Portland, OR.)

still We Arise (Easter 2024)

into a World of sunsets

longing for a Sunrise,

out of the depths of Darkness,

Christ did indeed Arise.

arriving as a Mystery

of Divinely Human Surprise, 

as a Child transforming our history,

Christ did indeed Arise.

embodying the Beauty of the Earth

and the Glory of the Skies,

in the Radiance of new birth,

Christ did indeed Arise.

abiding with a Beloved Community

suffering in sighs,

and meeting us in our deepest wounds,

Christ did indeed Arise.

seeing our languishing

and hearing our cries,

uplifting our Sacredness within our sordidness,

Christ did indeed Arise.

amidst of the flood of corruptions,

injustices and lies,

by living Truth to power,

Christ did indeed Arise.

enduring our fear-based projections

and crucifixions, and embracing us

in our shame-based disguise,

Christ did indeed Arise.

out of the caves of our collective blame

and the graves of our protective pain,

and into the Light of Love 

where we will never be the same,

Christ did indeed Arise.

and leaving behind the dungeons

of our terror and dear,

and leaping into a Daybreak

that is Wonderfully clear,

Christ did indeed Arise.

in the realm of Resurrection,

Darkness reveals Light,

despair empowers Hope,

and death is the Pathway

to Life through Love...

and in the ebb and flow

of our journeys here below

converging with the Sun

shining down from above,

as we wind our ways

through the harrowing haze

of terrifying thunders,

betrayals and blunders,

languishing and lies, 

wounds and waitings

(always the hardest parts),

anticipatings and Wonders,

anxieties and uncertainties

about whether Love survives

distances and disappearances

and circumstantial interferences

and if true Acceptance extends

beyond what society portends

is appropriate to embrace

with humble, unconditional Grace,

with hungry hearts and Hope-full eyes,

on this Day and every Day,

Christ DOES indeed Arise...

Thank You.

(A modified and expanded version of the Time of Reflection and Adoration from worship for Easter Sunday, 31 March 2024, Moreland Presbyterian Church, Portland, OR)

#300wordprayers #Easter2024 #WithEternalThanksToMayaAngelou #StillTheChristConsciousnessArises #WeAreALivingResurrection #WeAreTheBelovedCommunity #ATBC #NSN

('Christ is Risen!' by Bob Mennonna)

Blood & Tears & Flow (Good Friday 2024)

i've never succeeded

at giving blood

even on behalf

of dying friends

because every time

i've opened a

vein it always

ends the same

with my head

growing ever lighter

and my consciousness

slowing ever slighter

and my dizziness

falling into fainting

which disqualifies me

from giving Love

in this way

leaving the painting

of my heartfelt

and heartsore offering

incomplete and unfinished 

and my woozy

psyche feeling like

an abject failure

needing to surrender...

until i remember

One who entered

into a world

ruled by fear

of unconditional Love

that never ends

where the rivers

of blood shed

in violent opposition

to this Love

continue to flow

from wounds that

seemingly never mend

One who sees

all the ways

we project this

fear onto others

and our Selves

through endless destruction

and mindless insurrection

One who knows

that beneath all

of our brokenness

and sordidness and

madness and sadness

there is Unshakable 

Blessedness and Sacredness

Goodness and Gladness

One who shows

us the Way

of Revolutionary Love

holding nothing back

giving everything up

facing every fear

that blinds us

naming every shame

that binds us

shedding every tear

that reminds us

of Who and

Whose we are

enduring grotesque humiliation

undergoing unjust execution

from the corrupted

powers that be

not under compulsion

as Divine victim

or by necessity

as Sacred scapegoat

but from Compassion

and in Solidarity

with Divine Humanity 

and giving blood

for dying Friends

as a sign

of everliving Love

in a Flow

that never ends

a perpetual Resurrection

infusing the flood

of confusing blows

and pathetic overthrows

and polarizing passion

with an overflow

of Liberating Vitality

to prophetically proclaim

a new Reality

in the Power

that always Is

and always Was 

and always will

Be the Power

that sets Us

Free the Power

that already has

found us and

always finds us...

'It IS Finished.'

So to All

of Us sordid

and Sacred Souls

woozy with worry

dizzy with despair

squeamish with strife

screamish with Life

which seems to 

be intricately tailored

to fit us

to an 'F'

and brands us

as 'infinitely failured'

and incorrigibly fluffed

in the Light

of this Love

shining Here Below

as from Above...

We are seen.

We are known.

We are Loved.

We are Enough.

and where other

showers of powers

may claim that

We are defeated

in the Flow

and the Glow

of this Love...

We have succeeded. 

Thanks.

#400wordprayers #GoodFriday2024 #HolyWeek2024 #GiveLoveAndKeepBloodBetweenBrothersAndSistersAndOthers 

'Good Friday Flow' © John Malone)

Hands & Feet & Hearts (Maundy Thursday 2024)

i've taken hands

covered in filth

that led me

into sordid spaces

of unimaginable squalor

to be shown

an uninhabitable reality

inhabited by hungry

and Holy Humans

still holding on

to fragile Faith

with Sacred Grace

and touched feet

cracked and calloused

weary and worn

from traversing streets

looking for Home

(or at least

some safe shelter)

caressed by fumbling

yet faithful fingers

splashed with Water

which lightens loads

and enlightens eyes

sparkling with tears

uncovering a Courage

that overcomes fears

recovering a Dignity

emanating a Beauty

that overwhelms shame

and felt hearts

crushed by wheels

of unfortunate fate

and unbearable loss

continuing to beat

with a Rhythm

of audacious Hope

amidst all reasons

to abandon It

(and Life itself)

stumbling towards Ecstasy

slipping into Infinity

yet still i

hesitate to share

my hesitant heart

with Beloved others

and bare my

burdened bedraggled feet

to be humbly

and hallowedly washed

and dare acknowledge

my trembling hand

by the bowl

for communal dipping

on the table

of Incarnational Intimacy

and Transformational Reality

whilst watching another

Beloved Peacefully resting

their haggard head

upon that Carnal

and Cosmic Chest

and wondering when

shame will dissipate

in the Warmth

of unconditional Acceptance

fear will disappear

in the Embrace

of radical Belovedness

and filthy Hands

and calloused Feet

and crushed Hearts

could be catalysts

(even surprising causeways)

for Cosmic Convergences

within our Selves

(and my Self)

of catastrophes with Compassion

and woundedness with Wellness

and despair with Delight

and languishing with Love...

Let It Be.

#250wordprayers #Lent2024 #HolyWeek2024 #MaundyThursday2024 #TheTransformativeSpiritualityOfPhysicality #LetUsHearOurBodiesTalk

('Holy Thursday' © Maxwell Kuzma)

(Super)Natural Nurturers

for all the Beloved Ones

who nurture Others

(with and without Mothers)

as Mothers or Others

by having courageously

and care-fully faced

and embraced their experiences

of absence and abandonment

and appalling lack 

of nurturing and mothering

allowing the atrocious pain

to create a Pathway

into a deeper Compassion

and more ferocious Strength

to weather the elements

around and within

that can paralyze us

in affliction and addiction

and provide protection

and engage empowerment

through perpetual perseverance

and fierce faithfulness

like Mama Bears

with their Babies

cuddling them with Kindness

challenging them with Mindfulness

enveloping them in their

radiant and maternal Glow

developing their innate

capacities and capabilities

enabling them to grow

more fully into Themselves

and take courageous steps

into the Eternal Flow

and to overcome

those fear-full barriers

that seek to keep

their true Selves trapped

in caves of shame

rather than ride

the Waves of Wholeness

with Wonder and Wisdom

resisting the temptation

to exist by perpetuating

the cycles of blame

by ceasing and desisting

and insisting that they

have a unique

and essential place

and role in this World

advocating for the Belovedness

of all amazing Others

by bravely and beautifully

living out their Own...

Thanks.

#200wordprayers #InternationalWomensDay2024 

('Rising' © Giovannina Colalillo)