Month: December 2021

I sit down to write and my eyes struggle to stay open, my own body revolting against the desires of my heart. All I want is a few paragraphs, not too much to ask and yet the revolt continues on. As my eyes try to close my brain joins the struggle, protesting that we need a nap before we embark on such an arduous journey. Tossing words in the air my hands bang on the keyboard, not much comes out just jumbled up words mangled by autocreate. I put some music on to help distract the protesters but the Rasta man serenades my weary body, the smooth lyrics drawing me closer to sleep. Some where deep down in my soul a voice screams out let me go Babylon, through the distractions I see the chains on my soul tethering me in place. I realize that I was born into Babylon, a cog in the wheel that turns, suppressing and oppressing all in it’s path. I thought it was enough to declare my faith in God, repent and be baptized.
God just laughed. Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Matthew 16:24-26 24 “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”
The chains that bind your soul are yours to cast off, the answers are there if you would seek them. Many have sought but few are the ones who find the truth. You must step out on faith, pick up your cross, feed the hungry, cloth the naked, help the widowed and orphaned, visit the imprisoned. Trust in the power of God. Do this everyday and the chains will fall away. Find freedom in the grace and mercy of God, shine the light upon your path so others may follow you and stay humble on your journey, one of those chains is pride and if you boast of your deeds that chain will grow stronger. Be cautious of the chain of arrogance that can quickly ensnare you, your deeds are between you and God, others will see you at your task and ask you why and what you are doing; be cautious in your answer as the words that come out of the mouths of men can quickly become unclean, even the words of God can be uttered uncleanly.
The pathway to Zion is long and twisted, be prepared to stumble along the way. Remember why you are on the path and call on the name of God in triumph and in failure, praise him in all things.

“Radical empathy, on the other hand, means putting in the work to educate oneself and to listen with a humble heart to understand another’s experience from their prospective, not as we imagine we would feel. Radical empathy is not about you and what you think you would do in a situation you have never been in and perhaps never will. It is the kindred connection from a place of deep knowing that opens your sprit to the pain of another as they perceive it.” Isabel Wilkerson Caste The Origins of Our Discontents P386 Random House 2020.

“With our current ruptures, it is not enough to not be racist or sexist. Our times call for being pro-African-American, pro-Woman, pro-Latino, pro-Asian, pro-Indigenous, pro-humanity in all its manifestations. In our era, it is not enough to be tolerant. You tolerate mosquitoes in the summer, a rattle in an engine, the gray slush that collects at the crosswalk in winter. You tolerate what you would rather not have to deal with and wish would go away. It is no honor to be tolerated. Every spiritual tradition says love your neighbor as yourself, not tolerate them.” Isabel Wilkerson Caste The Origins of Our Discontents P386 Random House 2020.

I pray thee, Heavenly Father, may I always be a radical empath and continue to learn each day to walk humbly in your footsteps, loving all of my neighbors.

We see through a lens,
shaded by our own mores.
Clinging to the shards
and pieces that prop up
what our hearts want.

We see through a lens,
colored by our own mores.
Flinging away the shards
that might make us
question who we are.

We see through a lens,
filtered by our own mores.
Turning away the truths
that do not support the
world in which we live.

We see through a lens,
blinded by our own mores.
Stumbling through life
tripping and knocking over
what we choose to ignore.