Soul Mosaic

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

Maya Angelou

“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

Joseph Campbell.

” ‘It’s so cool that the warden service has a chaplain to keep us from freaking out’ …

‘Ah.’ I smiled. ‘I’m not really here to keep you from freaking out. I’m here to be with you while you freak out,’…It is a ministry of presence. It is showing up with a loving heart.”

Kate Braestrup, from her book, Here If You Need Me, recounting a conversation with a mom she sat with during a search for the woman’s lost child, and her observation of what her real job is as chaplain in the Maine Warden Service.

Today I’m going to do something out of character for me, I’m going to shut up. 🙂

Actually, I have this piece posted in my work area. It’s wisdom to me is so complete, I feel to try and add anything, would weaken its strength. So today, I will share it, and step out of its way.

The Difference Between Strength & Courage (Author Unknown)

It takes strength to be firm,
It takes courage to be gentle.

It takes strength to stand guard,
It takes courage to let down your guard.

It takes strength to conquer,
It takes courage to surrender.

It takes strength to be certain,
It takes courage to have doubt.

It takes strength to fit in,
It takes courage to stand out.

It takes strength to feel a friend’s pain,
It takes courage to feel your own pain.

It takes strength to hide your own pains,
It takes courage to show them.

It takes strength to endure abuse,
It takes courage to stop it.

It takes strength to stand alone,
It takes courage to lean on another.

It takes strength to love,
It takes courage to be loved.

It takes strength to survive,
It takes courage to live.

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

George Eliot

“If you are living in love, you are in heaven no matter where you are… If you are not in love, you are in hell, no matter where you are. The stories we tell of heaven and hell are not about how we die, but about how we live.”

Kate Braestrup, from her book: Here If You Need Me

“We have to hope that there is always something better around the corner. We doubt our ability to rise to meet hardship, and we do everything in our power to avoid it. We have to dig down, to believe unfailingly in the ability of the human spirit to triumph in ways we didn’t think possible. To make the choice to be resilient, ultimately to bounce back, is to make the choice to be grateful, as grateful as possible for the cards you’ve been dealt.”

Lee Woodruff, from her book In An Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing

“If I bore the sins of all in My agonized heart…on Calvary, then when you seek to punish others whom you despise, you punish and despise me.”

From the April 3rd reading in God at Eventide

This one caught me off guard the first time I read it years ago. It was one of those entries you read, swallow hard, remember how many times you were guilty of this, and you hope nobody else finds out because you feel like a jerk.

Then there’s that moment of fear, that “I mere mortal, have probably pissed off God” and you start looking over your shoulder for the incoming lightening bolt.

The truth is, the God I believe in, is not about vengeance. A God of total love doesn’t need to have vengeance. Humans often want it, but a being of total love can’t even comprehend that. So, I don’t expect there’ll be any cries of “INCOMING” from the Almighty.

Frankly though, after I thought about it, I almost wanted the lightening bolt. Instead of anger, what I heard in those words was sorrow. God helped somebody, set them free, and I came along and dumped all over everyone. Who wants to admit making God feel bad? Makes you almost want to volunteer for hell, just to make God feel better.

The reality is that’s not the answer, and hell isn’t even a creation of God. We create it. It’s within. There was joy and love until I came along like the rain cloud and crabbed at someone. I did it thinking I’d feel better, in the end I felt worse. I created my own hell….and spread it around.

So, I guess, maybe the answer to prevent pain for both me and God, can be found in the Buddhist idea of “come back to the breath.” As you open your mouth to retort, instead of letting words out, first, breathe in. At least it will take you a couple seconds longer to say something you’ll regret later. And who knows, you might even say something you won’t regret as much. I don’t imagine God expects miracles. He might actually smile to hear a few less insults thrown. You count your progress where you can…. 🙂