are you all in...

are you authentic, being the person you "are" not the person you think you should be, or that which the world expects you to be. Are you "all in" meaning do you participate with all of your being.. yes that opens us up to be vulnerable, but offering anything less than all of ourselves is only part participation. Open to Love and joy, but also pain and some cloudy misery, all that which shapes and molds and forms us into beings. Being "all in" opens the door to a complete experience of being alive, no walls, no shields, no excuses for something half hearted.. scary stuff indeed.. but more scary than taking your last breath on your way out of this world and realizing you never fully engaged..in anything? Pain and hurt paves the way into the realisation that we are alive, and that when immersed in the good and fun and enjoyable, that this is being! Doesn't provide any guarantee that life will be perfect, but it will be life, a full life, a truly felt experience with no "do-overs" in sight.. nothing else in this world gets to participate 1/2 way. why should we want anything less than allowing our soul to be .. all in

just do right...

three simple words with a huge impact.. just do right... it may not be the fastest way to do something or the most popular, it may not be the most pleasant way, it may not be the most financially beneficial or the most glamorous, but it will bless you with much more... it will provide more security than an army of bodyguards, more hours of peace within your soul, more comfort in knowing that you did not bend to the easiest path, or that which was unjust or unethical in nature.. peace of mind in the long runs serves our spirit far better than a quick buck, or stepping on someone to get what we think is important at that time.. looking at yourself in the mirror is much easier when your face doesn't echo the pain of someone you crushed in your mad rush to succeed.. at the crossroads, it's always a choice.. can you "just do right" when facing the fire?

a rainbow in the clouds...

I may not eat the dishes you do, or prepare them in the same way,
I may not call God by the same name you do, if you even call to Him at all,
I may not dance the way you dance, or sing the way you sing, or move the way you move
I may not pray or worship the way that you do, I may not cry or hurt the same way,

but if I can live my life so that I can be a rainbow in your clouds, all of these do not matter.

And in doing so, may you also be a rainbow in my clouds, or your neighbours, or a strangers...

and when those clouds are replaced by the brilliant light of the sun, and all that we are is illuminated for all to see, cherish that those differences, like so many individual strands of thread, are woven into that magnificent multi coloured rainbow of humanity..    a rainbow in the clouds...

I have arrived...

is the title to one of my favourite songs, written and sung by Gary B on his "Step into the sunshine" Cafe Del Mar album. "Now that I've found, what I'm looking for...I'll keep it safe, I'll keep it here inside".. to paraphrase the opening line.. speaks to me of many things, many memories.. it's one of those tunes that I turn up louder than others and put on repeat.. it plays over and over, and again and again... I have it on my work computer, my home computer, my Ipod which I can also play in the car... I have logged 90 times on just my work computer alone.. he has other tracks that I love as well, but this one sticks to me like crazy glue... it's one of those "Theme" songs of my life, the kind you want played just as you walk into a room, and not for the egotistical boost, it just speaks to me...

I have arrived... now we can rise.. I feel alive   sigh... 93 times now

a fresh new day...

the rains of winter are winding down,
the air begins to breath again with life and flavour and song in each exhale..
life claws its way skyward, searching for warming rays of sun and light,
ready to stretch it's limbs after a season of sleep...
buds and blooms ready to smile a colourful hello to passers by...
a fresh new day, renew, reflect, rejoice

we all need mercy...

welcome to the place where mercy is found, welcome to the place where love resides, welcome to the place where you are held in grace, welcome to a place of worship, welcome.. welcome.. welcome..

for you are His, unconditionally and forever.. with all of your fears and pain, with all of your hopes and joys, find his mercy lain out for you with only the request of your love... we all need mercy...

in hindsight...

a message today, out of the blue from someone in my past, someone that was close to me, someone who I loved and cared for, until on one unhappy day, they smashed those feelings into a million pieces. Broken pieces of love and trust, scattered for the winds to carry away. But attached to them, was the opportunity to live in a wondrous place, in a marina, on a floating home... I am still in touch with the beautiful people I met in that time of my life, they are very special to me.. in hindsight, looking back past the thorns and brambles, I would do it again.. for no one knows what grows out of the rubble, what beauty can be found in the devastation, what solace is created by being...alive and open..

breathe and exhale...

feel

the breath fill you, welcoming in all that is history,

know that it changes you, heals you, educates you

taste it's dreams and colours, bask in it's flavours

feel it's tears, acknowledge it's essence

exhale..

and repeat..

for you are also now it's history

may peace be with you...

5 letters with big impact, Peace... in a world full of sadness and despair, newscasts beaming pictures of destruction and chaos, where do you find peace.. what do you wrap yourself in to deflect all those arrows of pain.. what do you hold in your grasp to slay those dragons of negativity.

do you find it in the falling rain, the soft sweep of sun and shadows on a cloudy day. Is it found for you in the pages of a good book, the flavours of a good meal. Is it underfoot on a sandy beach or a grass covered knoll in a quiet meadow. in the echoes of songbirds hidden in the green canopy above on a forest trail..
Where is your peace...

wherever you go to find it,.... may peace be with you with each step of your journey..

of stone and mortar...

arches of stone and mortar, an open door beckoning you to enter in,

walls filled with endless memories of voices and sounds

joy and peace, warmth and safety,

but also tears and goodbyes

laughter and warm embrace

the sounds of children

and the whispers of your soul

all are welcome in this place..