At 6:20am I started walking over the Memorial Bridge, about half the distance of the bridge ahead of me I saw this mountain of black garbage bags being pushed on a grocery cart. The bags were so high and full that I couldn’t see the cart at all. There had to have been at least a dozen of the largest bags available. It was even difficult to see the man pushing this mountain toward West Springfield. He was in the road; cars would have to get into the middle lane to go around him. Every few yards I’d see him peek around this slow moving massive pile in effort to redirect the cart toward the side of the road. He would also stop to wipe his head with a yellow hand towel, the only bright spot in this visual experience. After making it around the rotary, I thought he was going to continue up Memorial Drive; he turned on to Main Street. Straining to push this load, he made it up a place where he could sit. It was at this point that I caught up with him as he wiped the sweat from his body. I commented on how much work pushing that load was and he told me that he had had to change his clothes twice at this point and was going to need to again. I agreed with him and as I passed him he said, “Have a good day.” I returned the same comment.
As I continued down Main Street I began to reflect on his request that I have a good day. Regardless of what my day holds, it will never be like his. I will never have to strain pushing a cart of empty cans and bottles to be redeemed in order to get my basic needs met that day. It was early morning when I met him and he had to have been up since sunrise working toward the redemption of his load. This simple conversation brought to me the realization of how much I am blessed as well as how grateful I need to be regardless of what fills my day. May we all “Have a good day!”
Monday, July 26, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Blessed are the Peacemakers
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise God you beings here below.
Praise God you spirits from above. Praise God, the Son and Holy One.”
My simple prayer as I walk in the early morning hours. Sometimes I make up verses for different thoughts of praise going back to this as a refrain.
As I was praying this morning at 6am on my way by the bus station I became aware of a man (I’m going to call him Isaac) dressed in a vibrant printed outfit of perhaps one of the African cultures. He was carrying a white hand carved delicate stick. I’m not exactly sure when I became aware of his presence though I know I was in the middle of my prayer refrain. This man was about 20 feet in front of me having just crossed the bus station parking lot, just continuing his journey south on the side walk. Our peaceful moment was disrupted when a man walking north on the side walk pushed Isaac into the bushes. Isaac quickly scrambled back to feet, trying to straighten his clothing and access what had just happen, saying to the man who knocked him down, “Why’d you do that man?” The man then tried to knock him down again as Isaac repeatedly asked his question. In self defense Isaac ended up swinging his small stick to make the man back off. The man never answered him, only uttered a few obscenities. When Isaac got the man to back off enough to turn, he did and began trying to walk away. I could tell that that man wanted to go after him again. At that moment I decided to walk in between them. The man took a few steps in our direction, Isaac had no idea what was happening as his back was to us. The man met my gaze as I walked. He then changed his direction and left us.
As I continue to walk, I began to reflect on how volatile life is- out of a peaceful morning walk violence crept into our lives. A few blocks later I caught up with Isaac. I noticed his medallion was hanging down his back, misplaced after the assault. I went to pass him and I mentioned it to him. Isaac was visibility still shaken as he assured me it was okay. I stated that I didn’t want him to lose it and wished him a good day as I passed him.
A few steps later, “Blessed are the peacemakers…” came to mind. Did I become a peacemaker in that moment? How fragile life is. How easily peace can be disrupted in an instant. It wasn’t just one man disregarding the peace of another. Anyone whom I share this with is touched.
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise all the peacemakers here below. Praise those peacemakers who spirits we love. Praise God, Son and Holy One.”
Praise God you spirits from above. Praise God, the Son and Holy One.”
My simple prayer as I walk in the early morning hours. Sometimes I make up verses for different thoughts of praise going back to this as a refrain.
As I was praying this morning at 6am on my way by the bus station I became aware of a man (I’m going to call him Isaac) dressed in a vibrant printed outfit of perhaps one of the African cultures. He was carrying a white hand carved delicate stick. I’m not exactly sure when I became aware of his presence though I know I was in the middle of my prayer refrain. This man was about 20 feet in front of me having just crossed the bus station parking lot, just continuing his journey south on the side walk. Our peaceful moment was disrupted when a man walking north on the side walk pushed Isaac into the bushes. Isaac quickly scrambled back to feet, trying to straighten his clothing and access what had just happen, saying to the man who knocked him down, “Why’d you do that man?” The man then tried to knock him down again as Isaac repeatedly asked his question. In self defense Isaac ended up swinging his small stick to make the man back off. The man never answered him, only uttered a few obscenities. When Isaac got the man to back off enough to turn, he did and began trying to walk away. I could tell that that man wanted to go after him again. At that moment I decided to walk in between them. The man took a few steps in our direction, Isaac had no idea what was happening as his back was to us. The man met my gaze as I walked. He then changed his direction and left us.
As I continue to walk, I began to reflect on how volatile life is- out of a peaceful morning walk violence crept into our lives. A few blocks later I caught up with Isaac. I noticed his medallion was hanging down his back, misplaced after the assault. I went to pass him and I mentioned it to him. Isaac was visibility still shaken as he assured me it was okay. I stated that I didn’t want him to lose it and wished him a good day as I passed him.
A few steps later, “Blessed are the peacemakers…” came to mind. Did I become a peacemaker in that moment? How fragile life is. How easily peace can be disrupted in an instant. It wasn’t just one man disregarding the peace of another. Anyone whom I share this with is touched.
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise all the peacemakers here below. Praise those peacemakers who spirits we love. Praise God, Son and Holy One.”
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Tootsie Pop Prayer
Gracious radiating energy, bring us into that space that each of us holds sacred for your presence. Open us as we gather for your creative movent and thought...
Life is so much like a tootsie pop. There are those days when we are so wrapped up in how we feel or how something is going to affect us personally that we forget that others are wrapped up in the same ways.
The color of our wrappings may be all different. Our perspectives even cause our wrappings to be wound tightly around the "stick" that supports us. Our wrappings may even come undone with the wear and tear of being tossed around in life's pocket.
When we take off the protective covering, (which if you think about it...it hides the true self from the world, protecting very little) there is a hard surface ready to face the world. How often do we show others our hard surface?
yes, this uneven hard surface can act as a buffer against life's bumps and bruises; however if dropped or struck in a certain manner it can crack or chip. Let us recognize that this coating has a pleasant flavor for those times when we choose to enjoy life by ourselves or with others.
God, inside that hard protective outer covering is a special place where we allow so few...sometimes only you touch us there. It is place though, that is the same in all us tootsie pops. It is the soft spot within that we all possess, that is your gift to us.
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? Only you God, know for sure. Help us to get past our wrappings and the wrappings of others...past the protective outer coating that shields or allows us to hide from who we really are... help us to reach out from the soft centers where you are really present to us. May there not be too many licks to get to the center of our true beings as persons you would have us be. Amen.
Life is so much like a tootsie pop. There are those days when we are so wrapped up in how we feel or how something is going to affect us personally that we forget that others are wrapped up in the same ways.
The color of our wrappings may be all different. Our perspectives even cause our wrappings to be wound tightly around the "stick" that supports us. Our wrappings may even come undone with the wear and tear of being tossed around in life's pocket.
When we take off the protective covering, (which if you think about it...it hides the true self from the world, protecting very little) there is a hard surface ready to face the world. How often do we show others our hard surface?
yes, this uneven hard surface can act as a buffer against life's bumps and bruises; however if dropped or struck in a certain manner it can crack or chip. Let us recognize that this coating has a pleasant flavor for those times when we choose to enjoy life by ourselves or with others.
God, inside that hard protective outer covering is a special place where we allow so few...sometimes only you touch us there. It is place though, that is the same in all us tootsie pops. It is the soft spot within that we all possess, that is your gift to us.
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? Only you God, know for sure. Help us to get past our wrappings and the wrappings of others...past the protective outer coating that shields or allows us to hide from who we really are... help us to reach out from the soft centers where you are really present to us. May there not be too many licks to get to the center of our true beings as persons you would have us be. Amen.
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