The morning is still dark and the sun has yet to find it's place, yet I awaken before the light begins to break the eastern horizon. I know not what shall transpire, I only know that possibilities lie before me. I will take one step at a time into the unknown. From there the roads diverge into many possible endings. I must simply step carefully and trust in wisdom and experience to guide me. If I am true to myself and show kindness to others. Then perhaps the day to come will be one of accomplishment and become rewarding as I approach it's end, knowing that I left behind me worthwhile things, instead of a dark and empty space.

Take a pencil and paper and sit down in a quiet place. Now make a list of all of the extraordinary things that have happened in your life. Document each one carefully then do a search online. See what the probability of each occurring individually would be then put them together and quantify that. List them by the good and bad, then figure in the things you have done for good or ill. Once you have the numbers with and without your actions ask yourself, is it all coincidence or are the numbers too improbable to be anything but divine action. Then decide for yourself, what do I believe?

Sitting on a stone by a slow flowing stream. I close my eyes and feel the Moss beneath my feet. I hear a bird chirping in the tree above me, I can hear the water as it washes over smooth stones. The wind gently blows cool air around me and I can feel the rays of the sun shining through the clouds. In moments of solitude, I can reconnect to who I am and refocus on my life. It is in a quiet place that I feel most alive.

I wanted to be devoid of feeling. I wanted to be free of emotional weight, so I bore my soul in my poetry and now I am without a thing to say.

If I should sleep and wake never more, take no thought for me. I will have gone to a place far beyond my pain, I will be at rest and at peace. My life that I have lived has been an adventurous one, I have many joys and few regrets. My sins are my own and I must atone for them, though I hope for forgiveness. I will sleep the sleep of the ages, at rest with what I believe. It is my hope that I shall have left a better world than I came into and that some small part of me shall remain. So If I lay down and wake not, take comfort in that I am at rest. Celebrate my life and mourn it not for in all things I did my best. Live in joy and not in sorrow, for that is what I would like you to do. Give more than you receive, that one day you may be at rest to. So if I should wake no more, know that I am in a far better place. It is my hope you will join me in time and that we can reminisce and catch up for eternity.

Into a blizzard with blinding snow. Ice covered the roads and the wind was bitter cold. Into the unknown holding onto faith and hope. In the distance between there and nowhere, a distant shadow walking lost in the night. Faint moon light shimmers between the dancing snowflakes as I return to check again. Not knowing what I will find, is it an enemy or a friend. For what divine purpose, perhaps I will never know. I only know I have been called to pull a wandering soul from the snow. Half frozen and desperate to get back home, I was called to be the hands of God and return a wanderer safely back to where they had been. I know not what happened to that imperiled soul beyond that night. I only know that I did that which was right. I can only hope that the gift or rescue I gave in the fathers name, will be passed on by the soul I helped to another who is in need.

To give to another and ask nothing in return, this is love. To sacrifice in silence so another can live, this is love. To endure hardship to make things better for another, this is love. To be nailed to a cross for crimes that are not your own, this is love. In all these things unconditional love lives.

We swim in oceans of oil, and natural gas is in abundance. Minerals are being pulled from the earth without thought. Food is made on a massive scale, so much so that we can use it for fuel. With all of these things in abundance, why isn't there enough? People flee war and are trapped starving and cold. Disease runs rampant yet wealth abounds. People feel sad but turn a blind eye. So one must ask the question with all that is evident, is there enough?

Take down the barriers to your love. Remove the shackles of past loss. Let me heal the scars of that which was broken. Come and let me be make you a part of me. Feel my soft touch and gentle kisses. Succumb to my strong embrace and the warmth of my passion. Know that I will not hurt you. Know only that I love you. Release yourself and know caring again. Please open your heart to me.

Can I be myself, will you accept me for who I am. Can I live in peace with you. Will you let me go my own way. Can I talk to you, will you see me for who I am. Can I be myself, will you understand. Just because I am different, doesn't mean that we can't get along. If you will take a moment you will see that I am unique. So can I be myself, please tell me yes. Please tell me that you can accept my differences and let me live in peace and perhaps we can be friends.

When others turn away, I will look to you. When you are written off, I will feed you. When no one want to acknowledge you, I will know you are there. To the hopless, abused and forgotten, I will see you.

A flag flies over a group of people, a building or a piece of land. It represents the ideals of those who posses it. They claim righteousness of their cause and prescribe their means to achieve their goal. They adopt aspects of what they believe and blend it into their way of life. There is no room for doubt. The uniform changes and the clothing is redone. The nationalities are different, but the theme is the same. There is no way but my way, there is no one but my people. All others are not worthy and must relent or perish. Regardless of the land, the ideal or the race, the color of hate does not change

Just as a child awaits the birthday and presents that they know will come, so I look forward to tomorrow. While violence swirls around the globe and uncertainty fills the airwaves, miracles are coming alive all around us. Where the crippled once could not walk, now they can receive new limbs. Where the deaf could not hear, now sounds are being given back to them. Where disease once ran amok, now new discoveries are healing the sick. When we once stood in awe of the stars above us, soon we will be visiting them. For all of the doubt that is forced upon us, the best of what we are can still rise above the fray. Our expectations should be for our future and not trapped in the here and now, as we all hope for a brighter day.

Let the cold drops wash over me! Let the water cleanse me! Let my silhouetted form in the Darkness add a sense of Mystery as to why I am here. Some people run from the Thunder, I embrace the lightning from the sky. I relish the cold water as it falls over every inch of me. I shake my head and let my hair flow freely. Water drenches me and sets me free. I become one with the Skyfall as I shed all of my pain. I am what was and will be again, I am reborn in the rain

Trees are adorned with lights and tinsel. Holly wreathes cover light post and doors. People huddle around fires close to keep warm. The season of giving has come again, but not for some it seems. At a hospital in a children's ward, happiness is far from being realized. Small frail children lay in wait for hope to come. Reaching for joy to hold on to, but seldom finding it. This is what inspires me to give my gift. A present I give this season will not be of silver or gold, but of a thing more precious than riches untold. A single gift of blood, can redeem someone's life. It can bring a child back from the brink and put joy back into life. So while others shop for clothes and the latest thing that must be had, I will be giving a part of myself that is the greatest gift I have.

A woman was stranded on the side of the road with a crying child in her car. A stranger came to give her help and she knew her prayers had been answered. A couple sat in a diner and realized they had no money, someone overheard their dilemma and asked the waitress for their ticket, then paid for their meal and left. A shut in was always alone at home, until a neighbor stopped by to visit, then made it a weekly thing. A young girl with a flat tire who's family had just moved away, was cold and alone on a February night, when a tall dark figure stepped out of a vehicle, the figure towering over her. In a state of fear she ask what do you want, the rough voice simply said, God sent me.

Grandchildren running about at play. Sunny days under shade trees with lemonade. Laboring in a field to help a neighbor bring a crop. Listening to a friend talk about her problems at our favorite coffee shop. Walking by a river and sitting on a sandy dune with someone that I adore. Remembering my wedding day and the clothing that I wore. Recounting memories of a life well lived. Seeing the reflections of life and dreaming of what is still to come. Thinking about all of the could haves and all of the things yet to be done. Such are life's little moments when we reflect upon ourselves.

The heat from the Sun shines down in the middle of the day, the river beds are dry and the wind blows the dust up around children at play. I sit on the ground and wonder when it will get better. I look to heaven hoping for some sign of change, but nothing seems to come. No cloud can be seen not even a wisp of rain. I put my head phones in my ears and turn on the radio. I listen to music then the news. I hear stories of far away places from nations I may never see. I wonder how they can be just like me. In a summers day in California, I learn that I am not alone. That others in places I have not known are suffering the same fate as I. Thousands of miles away in a different land but not under a different sun as the one I sit under now.

Trees sit dead among the Evergreens. The wind howls and the clouds gather to sweep the remains of the leaves. The rain begins to fall and cover the limbs and needles on the Evergreens. Then the wind whips up and the temperature drops and the droplets stand perfectly still. Frozen in place, the forest is encased in a sheath of ice. Clear and white the icy drops dangle from barren limbs and Green needles as they gently sway in the wind. Then the clouds part slightly and the true beauty begins to show. What was a dead place except for the sparse Evergreen comes to life in a dazzling array of light and color. As gentle rays of light pierce the tapestry of icy jewels, they glisten like precious gems. The forest becomes as diamonds adorning every tree. Rainbows dart here and there and points of starlight shine and twinkle. To some it is simply a cold and dismal time, but to others the life of the light that shines through the frozen gems is a treasure to behold.

Speak boldly and do not back down. Go into the prisons and hospitals to the forgotten and those who despair. Bring compassion and mercy as you join others to advocate. Be the voice to the helpless and the hopeless. Walk for those who cannot. Claw at the door and pull down the strong holds of indifference. Bring strength and determination to the fight. Pick up those who are wounded and carry them with you. Lift up the causes with charity and Thanksgiving. Be the voice for all who cannot be heard.

Living beyond the fringes of what people say is normal. Riding outside in the open spaces. On thundering horses with hooves of steel. Whether it be on a western prairie or a wide highway! They live by their own code and do what they feel. Now wanting to answer to anyone or anything. By the knife or the gun is how they are judged. They live for the moment and give no heed to tomorrow. On a razors edge they walk, images larger than life that are both admired and feared. Admired for what they may become, a legend in their own time and feared for what they might do if you look at them the wrong way. They are the outlaws and they live in a place where few dare to go, blazing their own path never knowing what their end might be!

When peace resounds and you can do no wrong. When you have found a moment of perfection in life. When you know all the answers and have success beyond measure, know that it is not a dream. Not all days are stormy and not everyone is unlucky forever. From time to time favor will find you. So when you are walking in the peacefully valley beside the still waters, remember to give thanks. So that when the storm finds you again and the road becomes rough, you will not forget what it is like when you walked in blessings.

I don't remember much after I left the bar. The whole thing is a blur. I only know it was bad. I didn't think it would matter. Just one drink before I left my friends. I hadn't had anything in two hours. I though I was good. Now I sit here looking at the photos of pieces of twisted metal. I wasn't going that fast, I don't remember crossing the line. In an instance it all went wrong. I wish I could go back in time. As I lay hear sobering up, I realize that it is bad. I'm not sure what I can do. I don't feel angry nor do I feel sad. I am only confused and my mind is still a mess. I didn't mean to take their lives. I wish I had one drink less.

The doors to stores are closed, the churches are silent. The streets are empty and for a moment we can breathe. Some people live in fear, but to others a revival has come around. Children are sitting at the table, and mama is cooking in the kitchen while they ask her questions. Dad has the family bible and reads the word of God to his family. Checkers and Scrabble have been dusted off and have replaced the internet. Books left on the shelf are opened and stories are read by all. We are forced to rediscover what technology has taken away. Home was once just a place to sleep and store your stuff, but now it is so much more. Families are learning that they can  be with each other and find happiness together. Things don't make you happy and distance doesn't make the heart grow fonder. Rediscovering home has become a new great adventure.

I stood in an open space and saw many lines. I saw directions that curved and twisted. In my mind, I felt unhinged, all of the voices confused me. Then I touched a line and I saw many things, war and famine, death and sorrow. I drew back and began to shake at the horrible things I had seen. Then I stumbled and touched another line, in a moment I saw great towering cities glistening like diamonds in the sun. I looked at children playing and heart the sound of music. I saw great vast spaces between the cities, filled with flowers and trees. I pulled back and began to touch another line then another. One by one each showed a different future. Some were wonderful and some were horrible. While still others were both. In one we learned our lesson and forgot war for peace. In all of these I understood that these were lines of what the future could be, but we must be willing to create it.

The ideals of a reasonable mind can be argued and even put into practice. If they have merit, then many will subscribe to them. It is only when it becomes necessary to use violence to get people to see your point of view that you lose the moral high ground and thus go from advocating a philosophy to practicing tyranny .

I think therefore I must exist. That is what the great thinker said. Yet do we really exist or are we just a dream. Is life all an illusion in someone else's mind and do they awake when we are asleep. Is there any reality or is all a charade. What if we never really existed except in the ideas of a debate an when the debate is over, we are at an end?

What I have become, would not be possible without you. All that I am is because of you. I could never know completeness without you. For everything that I will accomplish, you are my foundation. A rock upon which I stand and love beyond compare. I am nothing that you have not made me.

An edge honed to a fine finish. A point as sharp as a spear. Not too well balanced, but fun to fling about. A faint pungent odor and a strong after effect. Inhaling and holding is the best way to take it in. Both can be useful, a sword for cutting things down and Mary Jane for taking the edge off, just remember not to mix the too, or you might cut off something you need and not realize it until it is too late.

Roaring in the deepest jungles with a voice like a crashing river. You climb high into a tree to survey your land. Hiding in dense undergrowth, you command your band with a majestic fierceness that is the thing of legend. Having survived hardship and challenges to become supreme ruler of all that is yours. You show your silver lines with pride and wisdom. Though you can rip apart a tree with your bare hands, you still display gentleness towards the young of your band. Most noble of the great apes, you oh silver back are to be admired and respected.

The silver drops fall down around me. The cold chill rushes through me until I am numb. I stand beneath the dark sky and shed the tears that I want to hide. As the drops of water fall down my face, I cannot be sure if they are tears or if they are rain.

When a gift is given and nothing is received. When a stranger is helped because is was what was right. When you take time to comfort a friend. In the hours of darkness when you become a light. These are the places where mercy lives.

Cut me deep, wound my soul, tear out my heart strings as you go. Slice through my emotions and rip me apart. Just like I knew you would do from the start. Brush aside any caring cut me deep. Leave me bleeding and in need. Forsake my love and tear it to shreds, leave your memory echoing inside my head. Take away all of my peace so I cannot sleep, your love has been taken from me as you have cut me deep.

What can I do to help? How can I give aid to another? Can I do some great thing or will something small be enough? In being of service to another, there is no real answer. The need defines the act of service. Some kindness is simple, while other acts will need to be a commitment. It should only be known that to serve is to show our humanity for one another and is the answer to solving many problems that we face everyday.

The sky looks blue and the clouds are white. The sun is golden and the wind is soft and warm from the south. Fields are flowing with color of wild flowers. Birds are singing songs of mirth and serenity. Fires burn out of control and the sky is black with smoke. The corpses of half burned animals litter the ground. No song birds can be heard, just the crackle of fire and the sound of death. The wind whips up a furious fire storm and the smoke chokes the life out of every living thing. Both are possible futures for human kind, which one will we choose.

When our morals catch up with our intellect and both are on an equal plain. The future will be brighter than we ever imagined. People will no longer struggle over a single slice of bread. There will be enough for everyone to be fed. Disease will no longer endanger the old and the young. Miracles of science and sympathy will find cures for everyone. We will not selfishly hoard things to ourselves, but in all commonality we will share what we have so that there is enough for everyone. We will find news ways to meet our daily needs, so our planet will not suffer and the earth will not need to bleed. The future can be so bright a grand and wondrous thing. It will be so fascinating to see what tomorrow will bring.

What is darkness, but the absence of light. What is darkness but a quiet place to hide Inside shadows our true selves cannot be seen. In dark places we can choose what we would like to be. In the open light all of our flaws are revealed, but inside of the darkness we have the illusion of perfection. If only for a few stolen moments in the night. It is inside of the darkness that we can feel safe and hide.

I see what I was, I know what I am. The question is what will I become? In order to continue to exist, I must move forward, never going back. I must open my mind and embrace new ideas. I must be willing to agree to disagree, even when I feel that I am right. I cannot always have things my way and sometimes there must be compromise. In order to function and go beyond what I am, I must define myself in new ways and be willing to learn a new path. To become the person I am meant to be is to embrace an evolution of myself.

When the sky turns dark and the wind whips through the trees. I sit and listen for the rain to fall and tap on the roof. I open a bottle of wine and start a fire for I know that a chill will fill the air. I then find a favorite blanket and lay it out on the floor. As the lightning cracks through the air with a fierce thundering roar, I take your hand and pull you close. We lay together talking and laughing into the midnight hour. As the storm passes, we find comfort in each others arms. On a rainy night we reconnect and renew our love as a storm passes by.

Under all of the colors, beneath a layer of flesh. We are all the same, no physical lines separate us. We are all of human kind. We create our own divisions, we create our own hate. We separate ourselves from one another. Some believe one way and some yet another. Some have too much and some not enough. We fight wars over ideals, when our arguments really don't mean a thing. For we are all of one race, which is human and we all meet the same end. Some will live short lives and some will live a long time. In the end death makes us all equal and our final consequence is the same. What we thought was worth fighting for and what we truly believed, will matter little in a short span of time. For all of the power of nations will fade and nothing will really change. Despite where we are born, we will still be the same beneath the skin.

The world seems to be black and white. Things appear to be wrong and right. If all we had was reason, then there would be no need for a changing of the seasons. To mince words and stir some confusion, to paint an expressionist portrait and challenge reality with an illusion. This is the cause of poets and Painters, the task of writers and philosophers. If no one ever ask what if, then there would be no imagination. Life would be straightforward, and there would be no skewed lines. Yet because we have people who like to question, life will be shaded and there will be offset colors. Not everything will be clearly defined and we will have need of philosophers, poets, writers and Painters to fill in the blank spaces around the edges and to give us something to look at other than a clean blank slate.

All that I own is in a plastic garbage bag. I walk in the cold until I can find a place to sleep. Trash cans are often where I find my next meal. I find it hard to keep track of the day. I see joyful people going about their business. Shopping and having a good time. While I just blend into the background, unnoticed and left behind. I never wanted it to be like this, I once was like everyone else. I just lost my way and now I wander the streets, homeless for the holidays again.

On your way to wherever, I was sitting slumped on the sidewalk with a sign saying please help me. As you drove down the street I was playing in front of a run-down house with tattered clothes and no shoes but a joyful heart none the less. As you watched the evening news, I was shaking and sick wrapped in a cheap silver blanket while you ate dinner. As you got dressed up to go out to eat and have fun with your friends, I was crossing the street with a cane trying to get back home we just a few cans of food. While you were laying in a hammock in your front yard wondering about the things that people consider, I was crying next door as my father beat me with a belt because he had no one else to take his frustrations out on. I am everywhere and I am every person. I am every opportunity that you have to make a difference, did you see me?

An old man still on the street corner with a tin Cup in his hand. He would sing and dance a little bit for people that would walk by and if you like what he did he would ask can you spare a few dimes. His clothes showed sign of age and his hair was white and gray but he did not seem to have want or need, he just came out everyday. Some people wondered if he was crazy, other thought he was just a ***, but if you saw what he would do each night, then you would understand why he would do his little song and dance and Shake That Old tin can. When the sun were begin to sit low, the old man would take a walk down the street. They'd walk inside a little chapel and before an altar he would kneel. He would parties cup into the collection plate, and say Lord I did the best I could I hope that this little bit helps and there with it you can do some good. He would then get up and move on and go about his way, until the Sun would rise up and he started again the next day. One day you're the old man came up missing, where did he go you suppose? Nobody seemed to really miss him they just walk by and didn't notice at all. He finished up his work one day and did as he had done many nights before, but this time when he went to the alter he was met there by the Lord! He was pulled up from bending knees and Jesus Took the cup from his hand. The Lord then placed the crown upon his head, and the heavens began to expand. The old man turned around and he look back upon his life. He heard every prayer he prayed install every time you brought in his little can. What he saw now that he didn't see then, was that God had a master plan. Every few dollars the one in that plate, went into Masters hands! They're Jesus spoke over it and supplied it with blessings they could not be given by man. The old man self children being fed and people being taught the word. Then the Lord said to him the half that you have done is not even been known, but for your faithful service I now welcome you home. So when you think the smallest thing that you do is not enough, just remember that great things come on the smallest deed when it's touched by God's love.

In the dark places of my being, I hide my deepest fears. I bury my regret  my hatred and my dark desires. I keep the places shut up tight, so that they cannot see the light of day. I battle with my demons both when I am awake and in my dreams. When I sleep I go to my darkest desires and live what in reality would be another persons nightmare. I walk into the shadows of my soul and wake in a cold sweat. I take the feelings into the waking world, where I struggle to keep them in check, now knowing what might slip out. I can only keep the lid tightened down so long, before what lies in the shadows of my soul will find it's way out. Then all of my secrets will be made manifest as the shadows of my soul open to the light.

Photos adorn the dresser and a faded dress hangs on a closet door. A pair of well worn sandals collect dust beside the bed. Music plays from an old radio as the images of ghost dance through the living room. The kitchen sits empty and unused. Pots and pans no longer rattle and clang together and there is no laughter anymore. Tears now stain my pillow where the scent of your perfume was before. They say that you get better as time goes by, but I will be loving your memory until the day that I die.

The floral arrangements will be lovely when they lay me to rest. The mourners will be very somber and waiting to pay their respect. The casket will be lain open for all the world to see. Alas, life has finally gotten the better of me. There will be plenty of tissues for those who choose to weep and for those who snicker at my demise, there will be free drinks at my wake, but before anyone gets a sip or sheds a single tear. I will bid my own farewell as I eulogize myself. Attendance will be mandatory if you want to be in my will. I will not take a lot of time, just a few choice words will I have to say, but by the end of my own sermon, where I speak my mind. Some of those in attendance will be surprise and others will say that's just about right. So all I ask if a few moments of your time, then some of you will inherit my stuff and others can get drunk on my dime. For after I eulogize, myself, I want all to have a good time.

We are asked to love one another. We are asked to share with each other. We are asked to learn wisdom. We are ask to show restraint. We are asked to give justice. We are asked to abide by laws. All of this is what God ask for, but it is what we should do anyway. If we show each other kindness, then there is no need for war. If we are not greedy, then our neighbors will not do without. If we are slow to anger, then there will be fewer arguments, If we seek out a judge instead of taking things into our own hands. We will be doing what God ask of us. So why not turn to God.

When I find my way home and all my sorrow has passed away. In the land of never ending day. When I walk on streets of Gold and see the wonders untold. I will not shed a tear of sorrow, but will be filled with joy untold. When I have laid my labors down and rest is forever mine. When I see the face of the one who died for me. I will be filled with elation as I thank the one who set me free. I know they say you should not cry, but I will not be able to help it you see, for I will cry tears of joy, when Jesus face I see.

I once thought I had a grasp on love until you swept into my heart. Just like a cool wind that rustles Autumn leaves carefully placed in a pile. You brought me nothing but confusion, tearing down the fabric of my orderly existence. In one instance all of my plans were left as nothing. In emotions so vast that they could swallow up all of the oceans, I became lost in the idea of you. From your hair as dark as a Ravens wing to your smile that is as warm as a summers day. I fell hopelessly in love with you. I gave up my grasp on reality or what I thought reality was. I surrendered all of my dreams to make and cherish yours as my own. I have no will left to resist. I am enslaved by your gentle ways. I have given up all hope of escape, I have become a servant to all of your passions. I am yours humbly to command.