heat

i wonder

at moments

if

even with all the right eating and exercise

the cause of much turmoil of health

turns out to be

a dishevelment of the inside spirit

in a world of overheated ambitions

that conspire to pull us apart

to fragment us

and then to turn those fragment factions
against each other

into a state of blistering civil war 

making the inside of our skin

a hot battleground

invisible skirmishes

little explosions

implosions

firefights and turf wars

can be dramatic and ravaging

in the troubled human soul

of those who present

even the coolest
smoothest persona

how does all that silent warfare

fit in the space of a human head?

or even a body? 

a bloodstream? 

does it register to the outside world

as an uncharacteristic

twitch in the eyelid

perhaps a furrow in the brow

a letting slip of a caustic word

an ill-advised phrase
a burst of hot rage

or maybe only detectable
as a distracted glance the other way

perhaps this is how

the hot conflagration of a human soul

betrays itself

to the alert observer

or

if painstakingly concealed

in favor of a perfect outward image

it turns inward

going on a rampage

and visiting havoc on the human infrastructure 

until it smolders like Gettysburg

or Normandy the day after the battle

ah friends we must
release

pray for peace

declare a truce

on the inside

enough

I'm re-posting this song lyric/prayer that I wrote years ago, and first posted in May of '11.  It was a good reminder for me this morning and I thought it might be for you as well.

enough

what You give me is enough

i'm empty now but nothing is beyond You

You feed thousands easily

and You'll move mountains if i believe

You'll move mountains if i believe

how You made me is enough

there's no point in being a pretender

to play the role of someone else

it's enough just to be myself

You invite me to be myself

how You use me is enough

i don't need a greater reputation

i will harvest gratefully

the plot of land You gave to me

the plot of land You gave to me

my best is all You ask of me

i don't need more than You provide for me

i'll do the best i can

with what i have

and what i have

will be enough for me.

link to recording of "Enough"

three destinations

i met

a wise old soul

who let me in on a secret

consider if you will
he said
three possible destinations

Yesterday

is better known by the name 

Regret
journey there
and you will find

it contains
great masses of people 

Tomorrow

is famously known as

Worry

and it too is overcrowded

the ancient eyes of the wise old soul
brightened

I submit for your approval

said he
the third destination

Now

it's best known as
This Moment

it's almost uninhabited

it's vast and spacious

and absolutely brimming with possibility
all it requires is a keen eye and a bit of faith

truth be told 

he said in a whisper

it’s the only real place to live

i wanted to hear more

but I was running late

and I had to go

i wonder if he’s still there

invisible ones

Years ago I had the joy of writing a spoken word script for a video called  "Fast Forward: A History of the Church" as part of the Global Leadership Summit, (2007-ish).  This is an excerpt from the piece.  


This is about the unseen saints and heroes that keep the Church, with all its foibles and faults, alive.  There have been many of these strong, quiet souls over the centuries, whose names we will never know... as there are today.


You know who you are... 

invisible ones 
             

i want to ask you Church

how have you survived?

what mighty engine keeps your cells alive

what great heartbeat has sustained you

when pain contorts you

and sin stains you

through the trough of human sorrow

who has lifted you

to tomorrow?

there are

and always have been

the invisible ones

who never made a name

rejected fame

the brick and pillars

the crossbeams of the church

they have stood up for justice

stooped down to serve

reached out to heal

sheltered the defenseless

mothered the motherless

lifted the depressed

and loved the despised

it matters that they lived

it matters how they died

it matters that they answered the call

without them

the foundations would groan and crack

and finally fall


--
I just (!!) discovered (through Google archaeology), that Fast Forward: A History of the Church is posted

in its entirety, subtitled in Spanish:

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=6DWZGNNX

It's also posted in 2 parts, subtitled in what i believe to be German:


part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jet-Dx8DD7E&feature=related
part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2WoK9LoPlE&feature=related


Caveat:  This video is many years old now :-)