Live Out Light

Maybe There’s nothing to say About what terrible things come to pass Of those who endure them Of those who inflict them Of the long, lonely journey that leads someone off the path of belovedness And into the cavern of malice Turning friends into enemies Children into orphans Men into monsters The warm light of love Into cold, empty aching. Maybe  There’s nothing to say If all of our saying is what led man astray. Then we who shout and point fingers Should stop, silent, and open our hands We might reach out with love and grasp a wandering one Before he has gone too far into the darkness. You belong You are loved We are one For it is only love, not empty words That turn enemies into friends Orphans into children Monsters into men And the cold, empty aching Into the warm light of love. This poem was inspired by this quote: This my dear is the greatest challenge to being alive. To witness injustice in the world and not allow it to consume our light ~Thich Nhat Hanh

This morning in my news wrap up email I read about two different men. One gave a speech to accolades on one side and scowls/ heckling on the other. The promises of a thriving country through control, dismantling, threats and hate speech. I could say more, but I digress.  The other man I read about was James Harrison, an Aussie who recently died at the age of 88. I can’t tell you a thing about his political swayings. No promises to save the world or take Australia back to a golden age, but he IS known as The Man with the Golden Arm. In the years from 1954-2018, Mr. Harrison donated his blood and plasma, which contained a rare antibody called Anti-D. He is credited with saving 2.4 MILLION babies. Twice a week, for over 50 years he gave the gift of his blood.  I was thinking about how much time this added up to, sitting in the chair or reclined on the table, hooked up and just giving what was given to you, to save lives. No crowds, no news conferences, no golden statues or reques...