A pebble, dropped into a placid body
of water, no matter how small, creates a ripple effect. Like a pebble, an act
of love, no matter how small creates a ripple effect. Be the pebble, and you
can impact a life. Impact a life, and you can impact a community. Impact a
community, and you can impact a country. Impact a country and you can impact
the world.
On a Friday
morning I played Peek-a-Boo with God. Sitting on a balcony watching the sun
rise, I marveled at its majesty. The ever-changing pallet of grays and whites were
followed by the pastels of light blues, and shades of orange and yellow. The
clouds danced across the sky on different planes, dark gray in the front, light
gray or white in the rear, back lit in fluorescent tones of tangerine.
The pace of
the heavenly show was as mesmerizing as the beauty of the choreography. Then,
at the appointed time, the star of the show slowly made its entrance, a celestial
chromatic orangish ball. The light of the world.
Yes, indeed
it felt as if God was saying good morning! Suddenly, it disappeared behind some
clouds, yet, like fingers reaching out to me, a few rays exploded through the darkness.
As I caught my breath, the clouds quickly moved on and the full brilliance of
the sun was shining bright. So much so, that it appeared to shine a path on the
sea heading directly to me.
Quickly
enough it hid again amongst the clouds. Then, Peek-a-Boo, I see you! It seems
that God was playing with his children. Thank you, Lord, for letting me see
your majesty in the morning, for letting me fell your warmth, for inspiring my creativity,
and for letting me imagine our game of Peek-a-Boo.
To life, to life, l'chaim. L'chaim, l'chaim, to life. This is a Hebrew toast. When drinking wine, they’ll toast to life. What does “to life” mean? I was just looking and researching this song from Fiddler on the Roof, that popped into my head while I was praying this morning. More than the song itself, the toast l'chaim.
L'chaim means to life. What is life? In the translations from
Hebrew to English, from what I was able to understand, life can mean the Torah, or it can mean God. To say to life or l'chaim is to say to God, for God is life. Some
say that the translation is not really “to life”, that it is actually “to
lives.” Life cannot be enjoyed in solitude; life is to be shared.
Let’s go back to the
meaning of true life and understand that God is life. Consequently, our true
life is that part of God that lives in each of us. In a poem that I wrote, "Awakening",
it says:
The toast, L'chaim, To Life, is a toast to God celebrating
the very life that He has given us. So today I say to you, "To Life". May your day
be full of life. May you take a moment from the mundane from the repetitive
tasks of everyday living to enjoy the life that God has given you. Stop getting
lost in the perceived act of living and actually live! Stop and smell the roses, no you don't have to
go to a rose bush and smell it. Take in the breath of life that is around you.
Look at the sun shimmering off a body of water, a lake, a river, or the ocean. Look
up and see the clouds floating by in the sky. Watch a bird and enjoy its
flight. See the tree branches gently swaying in the breeze as you feel its caress
on your neck. Look around you, and listen to the laughter of children playing.
Understand how simple yet powerful, oh so powerful a smile can be. Take in the
breath God today!
Though I'm not toasting you with wine, I will say L'chaim,
To Life!
Do you hear voices? I do! Our lives are full of noise, fear, worries, and these disconnect and block our mind and body from hearing them.
Are you even aware that you cannot hear?
Carlos has done lost his mind, I hear perfectly well. What is he talking about?
Hm, let's explore that. Most people listen to the dysfunctional noise that surrounds them, and thanks to technology, the world. Yet, they cannot hear. Others have lost some or all of their physical ability to hear, and a few never had any. Amazingly, some with no hearing, hear the the voices clearly and understand that you can be in a crowded room, a concert, a stadium, at the races, or any place else that has raucous noise, yet still hear clearly what has been spoken to you.
You see true hearing does not come from your physical ears and their inner workings. No, true hearing comes from tuning into the Spirit that lives within each one of us. The connection to God, the universe, the I Am, whatever you want to call our creator. He is in all of us and want's to talk with you.
Unfortunately, we allow situations and others to clutter our minds to such a deafening crescendo of disjointed and dysfunctional screeching, that we are unable to realize that indeed we cannot hear.
First you must become aware that you are drowning in noise. Then, make the conscious choice to tell the mind to "Shut Up!" Command it to be quiet, then deliberately focus on the silence; talk to your Father and listen.
You may be out of practice or you never truly learned to communicate. It does not matter, be consistent: tune out the world daily and have a conversation. The voice is there, it might just take a little practice to hear it.
Tune Out, Tune In, and Listen! You will hear voices too.
I am Perfect by Design but Flawed by
Interpretation
I am Perfect
by Design but Flawed by Interpretation. Some my hear or read this and say “Indeed,
I am Flawed!” However, the wisest among us will understand that all of life is
a journey. It is the process that molds us, that shapes us, that defines us. Conversely,
our choices influence our path. The choices on the path direct the process that
ultimately defines us. At any given moment in time, we are either moving closer
to or further away from our design. It is a symbiotic relationship.
Deep, I know.
Let’s look at the example of a car. It may have the ideal, perfect design. With
the perfect design in place, it must go to engineering where each component
must be engineered to exacting specifications. The engineers or the programmers,
who program the software and or the algorithms use by the engineers, are human and,
by definition, make mistakes. From there the car must go into production to be
manufactured by more flawed humans and humanly programed robots. Again,
mistakes will be made. No matter how perfect the design, a perfect automobile
has yet to roll off the production floor.
Once in full
production and use, these cars start to show flaws in materials, in their software,
in the quality of their parts. Therefore, maintenance issues arise, and recalls
happen. The design may have been perfect, but the interpretation of that design
by the engineers, the execution by the production staff, and even the use by
the owner/driver is not. These issues should then fall into a pattern of
Awareness, Acceptance, and then Refinement. For this is the only way this car
model can improve and remain viable.
Thus, I am
Perfect by Design but Flawed by Interpretation, and I strive daily to make manifest
that perfect design. With the full understanding that while I am flawed and
will never reach that perfection, staying loyal to the quest brings me inline
with God’s perfect design.
