Where is God?

He was just a little boy on the week’s first day.
He was wandering home from Sunday School, and dawdling on the way.

He scuffed his shoes into the grass; he found a caterpillar.
He found a fluffy milkweed pod, and blew out all the “filler.”

A bird’s nest in a tree overhead, so wisely placed on high.
Was just another wonder that caught his eager eye.

A neighbor watched his zig zag course, and hailed him from the lawn;
Asked him where he’d been that day and what was going on.

“I’ve been to Bible School,” he said and turned a piece of sod.
He picked up a wiggly worm replying, “I’ve learned a lot of God.”

“M’m very fine way, for a boy to spend his time, ” the neighbor said.
“If you’ll tell me where God is, I’ll give you a brand new dime.”

Quick as a flash the answer came! Nor was his accent faint.
“I’ll give you a dollar, Mister, if you can tell me where God ain’t.”

Kindness
by Naomi Shihab Nye

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and
purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere
like a shadow or a friend.

Sacred Living - Accepting a new Reality

Perhaps you are one of the millions of people who have heard that we have entered a New Age for Humanity, the Golden Age of Awakening.  It is no longer a rumor.  In fact, we have crossed the threshold of the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius.  The history of Earth goes back so far that we have lost touch with ancient wisdom.  But to the sages and the cultures of antiquity, this time in planetary evolution has long been prophesied, and it has arrived.

There is no point in harboring disbelief or resistance.  There is much more to be gained through simple acceptance.  Reality itself is shifting, and it is happening very quickly.  For some, change is occurring with such rapid consistency that it passes without notice or any necessary response.  Things just change for the better.  Like when you're in pain and critically aware of it; but when the pain ceases to exist, you may fail to notice until several weeks or months have passed and your memory is jogged to a time when things were not so comfortable.

What should one expect to experience in this time of radical change?  There is a wide range of possibilities, largely dependent on a wide variety of factors specific to each individual.  For instance, many people are experiencing life becoming more synchronous, with greater ease, internal peace and inner abundance as the predominant change that is occurring.  For many others, the opposite is true, where disharmony and difficulty, like swimming against the tide, is the prevailing theme.  Millions of people have lost their homes and all worldly possessions resulting from the hands of nature or unscrupulous bankers, while millions of others are prospering by capitalizing on forfeited real estate.

In many ways, life itself seems to be speeding up, and so does death.  A great many people are working harder than ever to hold onto the remaining vestiges of what has taken a lifetime to build as it slowly slips away like an eternal sunset.  While still others are launching new and exciting businesses, resolved now to engage only in those activities that are beneficial to all life and bring the greatest personal joy.

And then there is the inner critic.  This is a most interesting phenomenon occurring at this time of planetary change.  Our species, i.e., humanity, seems to becoming more consciously aware of the presence of an incessant inner voice that has nothing to offer other than criticism and suggestion of doomsday scenarios.  This possible experience coincides with another phenomenon of current reality which is the presence of everyday miracles!

So many choices, so many opportunities.  I am looking forward to further exploration of accepting a new Reality! Won't you join me??

re·al·i·ty [ree-al-i-tee] noun  1. an ity-bity part of what is real.