Will There Be ONE Today?

I used to think that one was the loneliest number… Then as I observed life, I understood that our very existences are comprised of a series of ones or onenesses. We live one moment, one day, one hope, one heartache, one paycheck, one failure, one triumph and one tear at a time. Think of it like this, if we were carpenters, we would create one nail, one board or a mason who creates one brick at a time or a painter who creates one brushstroke at a time.

Today, in this moment; maybe we are all of these things as we endeavor to share our lives which are comprised of many if not all of these things with the world. I like to believe that we share our lives in the land of plenty, upon a foundation of love, while raising walls of hope to hold rafters of grace and create an entrance of peace that we may each bring who we are and where we have been into this place and therein be fully at our best.

This place is not anywhere that we can strive to reach, plot on a map or locate through a Google search; it is right where we are sitting and standing in this very moment. You see in addition to all of the ones in our lives, we all have the blessing regardless of our circumstance of – Right Now. This is place my friends is within each of us. The place where we store all of the ones that have shaped and molded us into the one that we are is the place where we are our very best, even now.

My prayer today is that there will be ONE for each of us today; one beautiful memory, one warming touch, one enveloping smile and one chance for each one of us to reach and teach another one us the goodness and power of the one who created us, keeps and loves us.

May it all be so… ONE blessing at a time.

Completely Yes!

There is a single word that has the power to change so many things about the world around us. Our lives, faith, perspective, direction, and impact; that word is Yes! It is defined as; “it is so, used to express agreement or to permit.” Yes can change lives, restore hope, open doors, extend helping hands and create change. Often time, there are those who walk among us that have had more than their share of the word no in this life.

In contrast, the Divine and the sacred gives us one of the most powerful tools that often go under utilized and unnoticed – that tool is the power of the word yes spoken and enacted. As I looked at this word and allowed it to continually pass through my being, I wondered what it says in other languages:

Si – Spanish, Oui – French, Ja – German, Naam – Swahili, Sim - Portuguese

As I looked at each of them and listened to the harmony of each as I spoke them aloud,I saw something in the midst of them all – “I AM”. The very name of the Divine is right there in the midst of them all. What a blessing it is to be reminded of all of the many ways that creation says and is YES in our world. Even this week as we celebrate pride – a movement born out of all things NO on so many levels and yet yields much more YES for us today and is still making a way for so much more in the tomorrows that lie ahead of us. We are still People of Promise who engender the very yes that the Creator was, is and shall eternally be. So this week as we go about our lives, our celebrations and all of our coming and going; remember that the yes that is within you can change the world for so many. Allow it to be more than just an answer to a question. Maybe this week, opportunities to be yes in the life of someone in someway will present itself. I don’t think that we will have to look very far or wide to take a chance to be whatever it is that permits and allows life to be more for someone, anyone… May we pause and give the Divine thanks, for the chance to say and to see the living and breathing YES before our eyes in all people of faith. Amen and may it all be so!

Outlines

When I was child, I was encouraged to color inside of the lines. Later in life, I would watch murder mystery television shows and there was always a chalk outline left where the body fell. From that I realized that there is no life or positive existence within the lines, it all dwells outside of the lines.

I guess if I had to choose which I preferred, I would have to go with life outside of the lines. The lines in our lives contain us, define us and prohibit us from really living fully into our purpose. Today, my outlines are the things that I have left behind, the things that no longer breathe life and the places that I have transitioned from. For me, there is enough color and energy in the events of my life, that there is no longer the capability to see the lines. So each moment can be anything that I choose it to be. Could it be that the outlines of our lives are merely the silhouette of our existence, the essence of our spirit that remains?

So, my friends; come outside of the things that contain you. Break out of the circumstances that define you in ways that just aren't meant to be so. Move beyond the outlines of your existence and live out loud, play out side and be outspoken so much so that the only outlines you encounter are the words and sentences that speak life - YOUR LIFE! What's that I hear? Sounds like LIFE calling…

I offer to the world a blessing that all of the lines in our universe will begin to fade and our true purpose can begin to shine through for our good. May it all be so...