A blue heron, three frogs, some water.
Reeds.
Me.
This is my credo statement.
The soul needs no campaign buttons.
The divine vocabulary is whippoorwills and cicadas.
Its grammar is up, earthward, towards the heart, and
always
still
Water.
Reeds.
Three frogs.
The gap left by a blue heron.
Me.
God who breaks all watches,
who is the life of the world,
the bug in the operating system,
the crick in the neck,
the distraction in the story,
the tears in the temple,
the baby in the bathwater rushes,
let me love you beyond all reason.
Turn reality into poetry,
make me nobody again,
pour your spirit into the machinery
until every spark sizzles.
Blow your life into this clay
even if it fizzles.
God, the mightiest beyond mightiest
lives as your equal.
Lives as your equal!
This is how life is arranged:
the thunder coughs, and then
it is your turn to speak.
OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI
It’s 6:00 am, and I’ve already had a cup of coffee this morning. I had it just the way I like it – black and in a cup. There was some coffee left in the pot yesterday, which means there’s coffee ready to drink today. Often I drink it cold – but this morning, on a whim, I heated it up in the microwave.
If you’ll permit me to brag, I have a great life. I love my coffee, so I make sure I have a cup – Every. Single. Day. Sometimes I have a second cup, too. Even a third. Not a fourth, though, because why? There’s no reason for that. It’d give me the jitters, and it’s not like the days are that long. Better to sleep on it and make that fourth cup the first cup of a brand new day.
At my age ripe old age of thirty-seven, it pays to embrace moderation. Unless you’re a top-notch rapper or a nineteenth-century Romantic poet, no-one is impressed by your excessive lifestyle after you hit thirty.
When a celebrity… https://medium.com/@bobjanisdillon/moderation-is-so-sexy-right-now-3377f07ad279
I was delighted to return to The Unitarian Church in Summit, the congregation where I was Intern Minister nine years ago, for two Sundays in August. It was great to see so many old friends. Below are the links to the audio podcasts of the sermons.
http://www.ucsummit.org/wordpress/august-3-dissolving-into-love-2/#.U_YgYEtv8mE
“Dissolving Into Love” An 80-year-old man dissolves into pure love, and life gets a lot simpler.
http://www.ucsummit.org/wordpress/august-10-ultimate-frisbee-reality-2/#.U_YgpEtv8mE
“Ultimate Frisbee Reality” The universe is waiting for you to ‘go long.’
Enjoy, thanks!
Some pray for quiet in Ferguson, but I pray
that the heart that howls at injustice,
the heart of our nation
will beat louder than any truncheon.
I pray for the police
whose nightly dreams of justice are interrupted by gunfire,
I pray for the mothers of children
spat on by our education funding system.
I pray for the fine young black men
who battle on towards a hard-won, always threatened respectability,
I pray for the angry young black men,
shirtless, pants sagging low,
who makes sense of this world that wants them to disappear.
Peace in America is an expensive prospect.
Tombs are quiet, and cheap.
Let’s all make enough noise
to wake the dead.
My friend, I wish you:
warm clothes on your back,
clean water in your well,
a spark in your eyes,
money in your pocket,
something lovely in your hands, or at least useful,
not too much wax in your ears,
sharp and sturdy tools in your shed,
hope in your calendar,
a well-tended fire in your belly,
and the love of the world in your heart.
May pleasures fill your life as the rain of a storm fills hungry soil,
And your sorrows be a slight drizzle between rainbows.
Dedicated to you, beloved reader, and in honor of our 31st Musikfest music festival here in Bethlehem, PA.
May you know peace.
May the air above your town know music, not sirens.
May the streets of your city know dancing, not bombs.
May the work of your heart be the rhythms of peace.
And next year in Bethlehem – and in every town
made sacred by children’s prayers for peace –
may the call of peace ring out again:
“Smile on your brother,
everybody get together,
try to love one another
right now.”
May the wind reach your spirit,
today’s food reach your always joy,
the people in your life be the presence of the holy,
and the day be a welcome home.
 | Wayne on Questions about your spiritual… |
 | bobjanisdillon on A room in my heart |
 | Lesley Lewis on A room in my heart |
 | Francine on The Trick |
| Sowing Seeds | Whoev… on Idiot Wind |
Rev. Bob Janis 