FootprintsintheWind.com

Was Jesus simply an exemplar of the human being? He in fact kept calling himself that in his “son of man.” I quarrel with the word simply. None of us is simply anything. We are each individuals, sons and daughters of God, each irreplaceable and different, yet all of a whole. Each puzzle piece is different from all others, but only whole in the whole. Each branch and twig and leaf has a special place, gains its wholeness in the whole.

Yet Jesus was human, one of us.

God is one of us.

Of us, one. And more. And.

:- Doug.

What will it take for us to become the heroes and heroines of our age?

Does being heroic require grand acts? No, simply ordinary everyday acts of whatever size in a large-sighted frame of mind and heart: what really matters? Who are we and what order of human realm do we want to rear?

:- Doug.

Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1207

To have the conversation about emergency medical decisions is a loving thing to do—for them and for you. It makes their soul-searching easier when they are deciding for you, it allows them to know they are doing the last most loving thing they can for you; and by hearing you they are giving you peace of mind—they are loving you now, you are loving them…in the now.

Please pass it on.

© c 2012, Learning Works, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Easy reprint permissions: 574/291-0022, or by e-mail to mailto:Doug AT FootprintsInTheWind.com. Back issues available at http://www.FootprintsintheWind.com

It was Jesus’ life and love that revealed to us divinity in the bosom of humanity. What shows us our upward possibilities is of God. There was something holy going on here and so we have the right to call this one “Son of God.”

:- Doug.

God is all that is. Said God, I AM.

:- Doug.

The way some people call themselves Christian sets up a distinction between us and them. This is distinctly un-Christian. We are called to love all.

:- Doug.

All, all, all this is G*d
I am all this
We all are all this

:- Doug.

Steeping us
The way
We’re on
Our community
Neither above
Nor beside
With, moving
All this
Spirit is

:- Doug.

Friends sit
G*d touches
Speak, move

:- Doug.

The visitation
Long lines
Hushed laughter
Body reposed
My friend:
Gone; ugly
Pink lights
Many flowers
Guest book
Children running
Less fast
Hugs, tears
Forgotten friends
Exactly this
Is G*d

:- Doug.

Up from the ground
Permeating like a mist in the forest
Down like gentle fog
The larger comes to us, is among us
& we among the larger all there is

:- Doug.

Watch out for LOPIS: Lil ole people in spandex.

:- Doug.

If you have done it to the least of these you have done it to me—that is, yourself, ourself, our larger self. Another literal truth. Self-enforcing.

:- Doug.

It occurs to me that how a town looks is how it thinks of itself. If it is dirty and ugly, what does that say about how the people think of their town and perhaps themselves? Do they feel trapped? Lost? Unworthy?

What of the towns which have different areas with different personalities? Perhaps there are people who feel poorly and people who feel, without reference to money, rich.

:- Doug.

In Senior Living Environments, of what do we want more? What is being done well?

:- Doug.

Hearing takes more effort than listening
Hearing draws a smaller circle
—in us
—of the other
Hearing makes the other real to us
& opens our heart
Though this circle is smaller
It serves the all by opening us out

:- Doug.

You do not own the way
Not one in the way owns it
The way does not own any in it
The way invites
Inviting

:- Doug.

Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1206

Rather than balancing
The parts of your life
Cutting portions off against each other
Seek harmony, melody & rhythm
Each singing with its whole voice

Please pass it on.

© c 2012, Learning Works, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Easy reprint permissions: 574/291-0022, or by e-mail to mailto:Doug AT FootprintsInTheWind.com. Back issues available at http://www.FootprintsintheWind.com

Silence the cradle
holding all sound
all conversing

Space the cradle
the opening
holding all
giving being to all

Conversing the cradle
of creating

Opening space the cradle of
Silence the cradle of
Conversing the cradle of
Creating all there is

Opening space the fecund
Way of Ways

:- Doug.

Those who know others are intelligent
are intelligent
Those who know others are loving, creating, & excellent
are the best of us
For they open

:- Doug.

When I look at the trees
Two hundred yards out
I am with the leaves
Not here
And still, in stillness
I am here
For about me is this chair
This floor, these walls
This window, those leaves
The traffic on the streets & roads
All around
The rivers, the cities, towns,
Farms, states, natures,
& stars
This is where
I am

:- Doug.

Even those who do not join in contribute.

:- Doug.

The world is changing
is becoming more complex
more diverse, more compressed
and we, too
if we are to meet,
to live
—and this, our freeing joy!

:- Doug.