Mount Up

We ride. Regardless of inclement weather. No matter blistered butts, chafed thighs, or weary bones-- we ride. There are hypothetical garrisons to relief, troops to reinforce, or enemies to be engaged. More practically, there are pumps to be primed, mail to deliver, bacon to bring home. There are babies to tend, adolescents to guide, elderly to comfort--so we ride. And if all we can muster is a paean that is "cold and broken" let it be so. Though heavy of heart and feeble in faith, mount up. The word on our lips is still "hallelujah" and that will suffice. We ride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCjxZHGHL4Y

*Anne Marie Murphy

The Baffled King

What more fitting on such an auspicious day? All roads lead to the same cul-de-sac.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQG7dZUnNLs

"...her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya."

*Dawn Hochsprung

Flatline

Wow...there is no traffic on this blog site. I wonder what to make of that. Do I continue to indulge myself? As happy with it (the blog) as I am, and proud of the content, what point is there talking to myself? I have said follow your dream and don't worry about results---and that is true enough. Still, if the word goes forth and no one hears it, it simply dies on the wind. Mores the pity...

Where is this dance
And how is it done

What of the music
Laughter and fun

Who is the maestro
In charge of this tune

Why aren't there rainbows
And a promise of June

When is there rhythm
Or balance to glide

How does one locate
The currents to ride

To feel an expression
Of moon, star or sun...

Where is this dance
And how is it done

~WPG

*Rachel D'Avino

Be My Valentine

Dear Human: You've got it all wrong. You didn't come here to master unconditional love. That is where you came from and where you'll return. You came here to learn personal love. Messy love. Sweaty love. Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love. Infused with divinity. Lived through the grace of stumbling. Demonstrated through the beauty of messing up. Often. You didn't come here to be perfect. You already are. You came here to be gorgeously human. Flawed and fabulous. And then rise again into remembering. Love doesn't require the condition of perfection. It only asks that you show up. And do your best. That you stay present and feel fully. That you shine and fly and laugh and cry and hurt and heal and fall and get back up and play and work and live and die as YOU.

~Courtney A. Walsh

*Allison Wyatt

ENLIGHTENMENT

A story told in pictures...

http://www.marcadamus.com/photo.php?id=254&gallery=favorites

*Benjamin Wheeler

Wayfarer

And Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching from a lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain only drowning men could see him
He said all men shall be sailors then until the sea shall free them
But he himself was broken long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human, he sank beneath your wisdom like a stone

And you want to travel with him, and you want to travel blind
And you think that you might trust him for he's touched your perfect body with his mind

~Leonard Cohen

*Avielle Richman

One Enchanted Evening

I had the privilege of spending this evening with an articulate, bright, attractive woman. Seldom do I experience anyone who can disagree with me more emphatically, and still maintain such a non-aggressive demeanor. She is remarkable in so many ways, it would be hard to overstate how much I admire and appreciate her. That said, she is being challenged by Life in a very demanding way. She even acknowledged she felt "invisible." This has to do with the way her life has been changed and the sacrifices that have been asked of her (which she knowingly and intentionally accepted). What we need to remember is that there are people who observe. That some do notice...and are changed for the better. Invisible? I wonder if she has ever been more conspicuous.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

~Kahlil Gibran

*Jessica Rekos