that feeling when I
know
I am doing that
for which I was called

Kundalini sparking
flowing
bursting

Living in me
Living through me
Living now

gratitude

Street Sleeper

A few days back, I allowed my self to envision
  the possibility of experiencing the next stage of poverty.

Yesterday, poverty came to me
  dressed in the garb of a friend, woman, teacher.

Her spirit's sorrow lept at me from a block away.
  She was pulling for breath, but life portioned it only in small gasps.

This day was particularly hard.
  The migraine came yesterday and she had no medicine to stop its rampage.

But, still she had to work, for she couldn't afford to lose the
  $300/week income upon which she and her partner barely subsist.

Sometime during that migraine, her glasses broke,
  leaving her sightless and without recourse to buy a new pair.

Nor could she drive to an eye doctor in her home-on-wheels,
  because on her birthday last Sunday, her driver's license expired.
  She can't renew it because she can't afford to pay the fee.

Now, she drives to the place where she and her partner sleep
  for the night, and then back to work...
  fearful that she might be pulled over, lose her right to drive,
  or have her home-on-wheels impounded...

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, a vendor mistakenly withdrew more money
  from her bank account than she had - after she had canceled the service.

The overdraft cost her another $35 and caused a cascade of bounced-checks
  which caused further overdrafts and charges...

So, she came to work
  with a migraine and no glasses, and no money for dinner...

Sat down to write and discovered my mouse isn't working.
  As I replaced the battery, I thought,
  'Would that all life be so simple.'

But having said that, I realize
  I would become bored so
  quickly with a life-so-simple,

and decided, rather, to opt
  for the mountain top journey
  I selected so very long ago.

Raise Your Voices

I've been contemplating...

What happens, really, when your money runs out
  and you still have no source of income?

I see, on the streets of this fine city, people
  who know the answer to this question.

As the pile of unanswered job applications rises
  and my bank account dwindles,

I wonder if their path is not that which
  unfolds in front of me.

So, yesterday I dared to step beyond my fear

  to envision this path.

I vowed that, should this path be mine,

  I will bring my pen and paper

and I will give voice to those standing on the 

  street corners of this world, who ask

us all to consider our humanity.

the Foreword for My New Book - the next draft

This story commences

  somewhere in the middle.

  In this middle place, I walked yet

  another path of reflection and healing

  of the events that transpired ten years past.

You see, I am a gay woman, a lesbian.

  My particular life circumstances prevented

  me from knowing this until my 39^th year, after

  a husband and three children filled my life, after

  I had established a career and selected my life path.

The crisis of this awakening arose in the midst of other

  events, so that in the passage of a mere four years;

  my mother and father departed this life,

  my relationship with my life partner ended,

  I was asked to surrender, and nearly lost, my babies, 

  members of my birth family disowned me,

  my life partner’s kin vanished from my life,

  my business and source of income failed,

  the church family of my youth rejected me,

  my home, the future I anticipated…all gone.

These events brought the fire that razed

  everything I thought I understood and believed.

  You know the feeling when the world turns upside

  down and you discover that gravity doesn’t really exist?

The experiences have been my teachers and guides,

  ever-present and relentless in their quest to gift healing,

  confront harmful beliefs, open new paths, reveal wisdom.

The fusion of those events with the experiences of my

  childhood and my recent encounter with mid-life

  created the substance out of which the journey

  of the last four years was birthed and grew.

I imagine that, in the moments prior to the union of our

  soul with the newborn, we were advised that this life did

  not come with a promise of unbroken happiness and ease.

I imagine also that we were reminded that this was to be a

  journey of the soul to experience wonders and trials,

  and through them, to feel the sacredness of life.

So many of us journey through our days searching for

  purpose, meaning, healing, fulfillment, happiness.

  The journey can be rich beyond measure,

  overflowing with wonder and laughter,

  turmoil and tears, profound love...

I share my experiences in hopes that they

  will resonate in the hearts and souls of fellow

  travelers, affirm the sacredness of each person’s

  Spirit Walk, and encourage all to continue on their path.