“Money is numbers and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end.”

Bob Marle

To sing is to begin a sentence
like “I want to get well.
I am not born for nothing
and neither are you:
Heaven never wept
over nothing."


~ Thomas Merton
from an untitled poem

I believe in Thich Nhat Hanh's theory of inter-being. I believe we are transformations of the energy of the universe. I don't believe in a god as a puppeteer. The universe is like the sea, we are the drips, and life and death is like the waves. When our body dies, our energy goes back to the sea. So death is an illusion.

"Nature to a saint is sacramental, If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in Nature. In every wind that blows, in every night and day of the year, in every sign of the sky, in every blossoming and in every withering of the earth, there is a real coming of God to us if we will simply use our starved imagination to realize it."------- Oswald Chambers



"All my life has been a relearning to pray---- a letting go of the incantational magic, petition, and the vain repetition "Me Lord, me," instead watching attentively for the light that burns at the center of every star, every cell, every living creature, every human heart."------Chet Raymo

[Cited in tthe book"Water, Wind, Earth and Fire" by Christine Valters Paintner

Man begins in zoology
He is the saddest animal
He drives a big red car
Called anxiety
He dreams at night
Of riding all the elevators
Lost in the halls
He never finds the right door

Man is the saddest animal
A flake-eater in the morning
A milk drinker
He fills his skin with coffee
And loses patience
With the rest of the species

He draws his sin on the wall
On all the ads in all the subways
He draws mustaches on all the women
Because he cannot find his joy
Except in zoology

Whenever he goes to the phone
To call joy
He gets the wrong number

Therefore he likes weapons
He knows all guns
By their right names
He droves a big black Cadillac
Called death

Now he is putting anxiety
Into space
He flies his worries
All around Venus
But is does him no good

In space where for a long time
There was only emptiness
He drives a big white globe
Called death

Now dear children you have learned
The first lesson about man
Answer your test

"Man is the saddest animal
He begins in zoology
And gets lost
In his own bad news."


.
~ Thomas Merton
from The Collected Poems of Thomas Merton

A Pueblo Indian Prayer

Hold On...



Hold on to what is good,
even if it's a handful of earth.

Hold on to what you believe,
even if it's a tree that stands by itself.

Hold on to what you must do,
even if it's a long way from here.

Hold on to your life,
even if it's easier to let go.

Hold on to my hand,
even if I've gone away from you.

I came across this Franciscan blessing/benediction, and the words just spoke to my heart as an encouragement of what I want and should be praying for, seeking, and desiring in my own life. I so much want to follow God’s heart for justice, live for Him, and live out what this blessing speaks about. I hope you too will be encouraged by the words of this blessing…



May God bless you with a restless discomfort

about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,

so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.



May God bless you with holy anger

at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,

so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.



May God bless you with the gift of tears

to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish,

so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.



May God bless you with enough foolishness

to believe that you really can make a difference in this world,

so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.



Here is a slightly different version of the blessing…



May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor

The sea is everything.

It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe.

Its breath is pure and healthy.

It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely,
for he feels life stirring on all sides.

The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and
wonderful existence.

It is nothing but love and emotion;
it is the Living Infinite.


~ Jules Verne