Reignited by the brilliance of the Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, and her Inauguration Poem, "The Hill We Climb." I am sharing my last piece from a collaborative Season for Peace and Nonviolence event at Northaven United Methodist, Dallas, in 2017.
Let It Begin With Me
I heard the Dalai Lama say
“Engage with those right beside us”
I saw a young man
With a black hoodie on
That had a rainbow Buddha and a message
“We are HERE to heal, not to harm.
We are here to Love, not to hate.
We are here to create, Not to destroy.”
A Princess
From a galaxy far, far away
Said
“Take your broken heart
And make art.”
Peace begins
Right where we are
We cannot meet the wounds of the world
With animosity
perpetuated projections
the dense fog of mistaken identity
that drapes our soul
in grey doubts
We cannot linger in global fear
Like a 3D hangover
While ignoring our own pain
Eventually
Through introspection
Deep contemplation
We meet our shadows
In the fruitful darkness
Like the heavenly sapphire morning glories
Turning to the LIGHT
Awakening within.
“The wounded healers
Become leaders”
In an emerging paradigm
The seed of Peace
An idea that spirals upward
Is planted in the fertile soil …… Of paradox
We begin to SEE
There is no I
You or even we
There is simply
The HOLY ONE
What if we
Met each other
Like unknown artists of our lives
Staring into the mystery
At the edge of a foggy dock
Surrendering to that which is Greater.
Instead of creating
Enemies of ideologies
What if we met in LOVE
Dreaming a new vision into being.
We are entangled
By our very
Quantum nature.
Light
Cannot separate
Itself from Light.
Darkness is only
The theatrical backdrop
So the glory of constellations may shine
Revealing
The intricate diamond web
That is LIFE.
Illusory power
Is Diminished
In One moment
Tasting Truth
Of the eternal fountain
That is FIERCE LOVE.
The purification
Being called forth
Is not puritanical
Pure Awareness
Arises
Opening the gates of the heart
Where kindness leads
Courage speaks
A universal language
The power we seek
Is a disguise
For really
A desire
To meet GOD
In every encounter.
To discover the Master
That hides amongst us.
A new lens
to view the world in
kaleidoscope 5D is vital
Through deep listening
internal GPS
reveals that we are being activated
in the remembrance
of Wholeness.
When the piercing pain
Arises in the harsh circumstances
Of humanity
When we cannot imagine
The GOOD
That will come forth
Bearing witness to suffering
LOVE Is
the kiss of the Infinite ONE
the healing balm
We are not turning
Our backs
To the cruel
Isms And phobias
Of Ego creations.
No….we meet
Every challenge
In every moment
With a FIRE
More potent
We simply
Add LIGHT
For one candle
illuminates a room
Dispels the darkness…………IGNITES a million flames.
Collective Compassion
Unlocks
The secret codes
Of the universe
Radiating from our heart
Luminosity of 10,000 Suns
dissolves the Veil of amnesia.
Myopic worldview
Is an oxymoron
We must remove the blinders of duality
To see ourselves
Within every
Person we meet
Within every custom and culture
We greet.
Social Healing
Begins by
Personal
Revealing
Of shadow edges
Blades that softly cut
Cords
Of confusion
restoring the
Harmony of the Garden
withIN
For….
One child
One word
One choice
We are the voice
to rise up….Together. ….
YES…it MUST begin with Me.
Alchemy of
LOVE and WISDOM
Is Potent medicine
Elixir of awakening
I become acutely aware
That Omran Daquneesh
Is my 5 year old son
Syria is my home
Africa is my body
Iraq lives as my bones
Chicago pulsates as my heart
Dallas is where my breath starts
Standing Rock
Flows as my veins
Nasty Woman
Is not my name.
I AM the LIGHT
In every crevice
Of every story told
mere vapid ghosts
Of ancient accusations
Wrestling fear
Like Jacob and the Angel.
Where only LOVE prevails.
Collective memory
Haunts us
Collective wounding
Taunts us
It does not have to Stunt us
In this paradigm shift
Yet..it must
Always and only
First……Begin with ME.
I must look into the mirror… deep into my soul
Atunement
Atonement
Radical Forgiveness
For self
For other
Melts the layers revealing
“Back of what you are
and back of what I AM
is all that there IS.”
A mystic once whispered to the wind.
A seed from which a million forests live
As a dream
Cracks open
Transforming inner landscapes
Sculpting new ways of seeing and being
Love more
Not less
Dance more
Not less
Let go of confusion
Move to clarity
Let It Begin with me
More Mindfulness
Not less
More connection
Not less
Embrace joy in every moment
No matter how winding
The road may be.
We open our view
These 64 days
To a wider identity
From which
We belong
Beloved community
That begins with each
YES to a greater possibility.
Rumi reminds us
That
The Sun
Never says
“You owe me”
It shines unconditionally
Upon all of the earth and heaven
Tangerine sky
Announces the LIGHT of a new day.
YES…..LET IT BEGIN WITH ME
Let my heart
Make art
May I serve
With Love
May I engage
With all of those
Beside me.
May my life
Be my message.
Because….. LOVE is what we are HERE FOR.
Veronica Valles
Season for Nonviolence Opening Ceremony
Northaven United Methodist
1.30.17
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