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“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.”

Eckhart Tolle

Lets bring this into our awareness today and embrace everything that we experience in the highs and lows of our  lives.

At the end of the day, pause and reflect on what you discovered …

Namaste

Life is not a problem to be solved, nor a question to be answered. Life is a mystery to be experienced.

~ Alan Watts

Notes for a sermon for Ashton Hayes for June 22^nd 2014

Fresco in the “Visoci Decani” in Kosovo

Text: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth: I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34)

Teachers are busy writing school reports. Here’s Jesus’ report from the autumn term:

• Resistant materials – A – excellent in woodwork section, and obviously well supported by the help and stimulation he gets at home.
• Maths – F – Lacks basics. Keeps muttering about “Three in One” and “I and the Father are one”.
• Graphic communications – D – Prefers to draw with a stick in the sand than to use pencil and paper.
• Physical Education – D- Jesus has been a troublemaker. He refuses instruction in swimming, and is surprised that he sinks when he tries to walk on the water.
• Overall – it saddens…

I am not governed by a foreign power; I am self-governed.
I am as free as I can be from the control of others.
I am influenced by love and beauty, kindness and compassion, yearning and striving.
I am self-reliant – an independent mind that cannot be reigned in, repressed or shape-shifted to please the status quo.
I do not depend on someone else to decide whether or not, I can express my voice in the world.
I am not determined by fashion – not the next J.K. Rowling – not trying to write the next Fifty One Shades Of Lighter Grey.
I am not determined by the outcome of statistics or the result of a study, or the promise of a guaranteed 5,000 advance sales.
I will not be watered down, nor have my chocolate sweetened.
I am cocoa, Marmite, chilli and garlic ~ an Independent Artist, Writer or Publisher who creates…

“Why are teachers even bothering to picket,

when you aren’t getting strike pay any more?”

he asked.

I told him it was because teachers are moralists

who are defending democracy

and fair working & bargaining conditions

against a corrupt government:

A government that ignores the court rulings

spends billions of tax payers’ dollars appealing

judgments by the Supreme Court

and the United Nations saying they

are WRONG to steal from our kids.

It will pay billions for a stadium roof,

but will not pay for educating its children.

I told him that in such a war,

pay is a small thing.

We will fight, because if our government

succeeds in destroying OUR union

then every other working person in this province

is in peril.

If OUR contracts can be shredded with impunity,

so can YOURS!

We are fighting for YOUR rights

and for our students’ right to a funded education

against a government with an…

I perch on this threshold

astonished

by my front lawn’s miracle

of birdsong

scenting the carefree breeze,

how each plant dances

gracefully

in nature’s inimitable choreography:

swaying ferns partner

emerald leaves aflutter

branches of blossoms bow grandly

then billow

to sunlit radiance

as the butterfly floats and the dragonfly whirs

resplendently entering

our enchanting soloists

remind that life’s magic

can appear at any moment

for those who will see,

yes, astonished

by my front lawn’s miracle

let me savor the succulence

June’s abundance

and add my grateful heart

to her lovely tune

*When I saw the following quotation of Mary Oliver’s sublime poetry, I was immediately inspired to write my humble offering above.  Yes, let’s be astonished!  And then share…

“Instructions for

living a life:

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.” ~Mary Oliver, “Sometimes”