Bringing Down a Phalanx

Disbelief and self-doubt are powerful in their ability to destroy oneself and even those whom would place their trust blindly with others. No matter how inclined one is to follow a particular path or mode of thinking, seeing the doubt that others may have in the same idea can often be detrimental to one’s own ability to believe.

Where a bridge stood or a rope supported one’s weight, the support fades and we are left to question our own faith, and our own motives. Have we followed others all along, or have we forged our own path? Are we truly comfortable in our own skin, or have we lived off of the support of others?

Doubt can bring a phalanx down, but when confronted with a chance to redeem oneself, there is no turning back. There is only Us in the end, no one stronger, smarter, or more prepared. There is only Us and yet all we have to confront is ourselves.

Word Association

	magi
		wise men
Jesus
   shepherd
			hearts
		soul
connectedness
    	  maze
lost
			found
	


Do not be like me.
Be you to the fullest.

Do not emulate my speech or my behaviors.
Do not...

 

 

The Tribe of One

When we cut men from stone and separate them from the fold, we dehumanize them and turn their life and story into caricatures. Lost is the message, for in entombing their words and their spirit, we idolize the man and the image. The road is forgotten, and what is chiseled from the rough cut is lost to time. It is dust in the wind.

The tribe of humanity is small. One person’s calling is a calling to all. One person’s cause becomes a cause for all. No individual stands alone unless it is he who separates himself. Weak is the one who sees himself weak and alone. Strong is the one who sees himself in all.

Whether a story goes unwritten or untold, it is never truly forgotten. Books shall not keep it safe, nor stone, or monument. What touches a person’s heart goes unforgotten.

We are One tribe and no cause is above another.

Where is God?

People ask to see God all the time. They are told to go outside. And when they go outside, they see the stream as it trickles along, the knee high grass that waves in the wind, and the rays from the sun as it gives the sky a purple hue. They see butterflies float by and clouds scattered and dotting the vast expanse. The sounds of birds, and a symphony of insects and critters fill the air.

“Where is God,” they ask.

Again they are told to look outside. Outside they see children running by, laughing and playing. An old man sits on his stool humming to the sounds of nature. A couple is on their porch discussing the day’s events. A stranger is seen in the distance, his face out of view.

“Where is God,” they ask again.

They are told close the door and look inside. There they see their living room, filled with furniture. A mess is piled on the coffee table, and a fresh pot of coffee is brewing in the kitchen. It’s quiet and no one is home.

“Where is God,” they ask again.

They hear nothing. They see nothing. They smell nothing. They feel nothing. Everything turns to black. The sound of silence becomes deafening. Thoughts begin to empty from the mind. The smell of the coffee disappears. And there in front of them, in back of them, outside of them, inside of them, they feel nothing and everything.

We All Need Each Other to Remember

Over the course of the last few weeks, several people have come into my life. Some were family. Some were strangers. Some of them I have never met before and others I have known. I have disagreed with some, and for others we see eye to eye. As different as they may be, each one of them holds a place in my heart for each has reminded me of whom I am and who I have become. They have shown me my strengths and they have shown me my weaknesses.

Although there are times I may go through life thinking I have things figured out, they remind me of who I am, of who they are, but most of all, who we are. Though I walk my path and make choices by my own freewill, this life is a shared journey and I would not be where I am without all of those who have touched my life. Through struggles and heartache, through peace and joy, they have all touched my heart. To honor them is to be myself. Thank you for helping me to remember.

Serve Your Master

Unity in division is still division. Unity against a common enemy is still division. Fractured by our wants, and by our beliefs, we can never know a love so pure. Fractured by our hate and disdain for our fellow man, we can never know ourselves. So often man condemns his brother and sister without knowing he is truly condemning himself. What mans hates in others, he hates of himself. And in hating of himself, he feeds of the Tree of Deception.
Man proclaims himself a Christian, or a Muslim or a Jew, and yet he calls his brother enemy. He justifies his hate with the hate of another man, and then wonders why his heart is in pain. He calls his neighbor a liar and a thief, and then wonders why his heart feels empty. He strikes out in anger and frustration and then wonders why his tears are bitter. There is no unity in division, and yet that is the way he wants it.
Serve your master or serve your heart. I have no master, for you are all my brothers and sisters.