Inclinations

Studies have shown…

According to the leading experts…

Prevailing opinion insists…

The latest polls indicate…

My father always said…

The evidence declares…

Indisputably…

Without doubt…

We all keep some of our inclinations to ourselves.

That is because some of our inclinations seem to us to be

socially unacceptable, to put it nicely.

But I’d be willing to bet that my inclinations

are enough like your inclinations

that we would be surprised,

and possibly relieved,

with a strong lingering chance of embarrassment,

if we somehow discovered

that we shared similar inclinations.

Common human tendencies are what they are.

We keep them private and secret

in order to preserve a semblance of

dignity, maturity, sanity, humanity, and civilization.

We still all put our pants on
one leg at a time.

This is the great equalizing image of how most humans clothe themselves.

It is clean and mundane and true.

Meanwhile, our inclinations linger in the dark.

Slippery

Are you looking at life straight on,

with determination, grit, and confidence?

Does life often seem to be splintering,

cracking, sliding, shifting, escaping?

Can life be grasped

like a sturdy branch or like a solid rock?

Fleeting

Short

Brutal

Fickle

Unpredictable

Serendipitous

Joy-filled

Peaceful

Is life what you “make it”?

Is life a smorgasbord that offers a taste of everything?

Look – and see – with both eyes.

Listen – and hear – with both ears.

Touch – and feel – with both hands.

Taste – and savor – with all of your taste buds.

Give. Receive. Enjoy. Laugh. Shout. Sing. Dance.

Rest.

True Colors

How do you see it?

“Black & White”

We say this phrase represents the idea of absolutes. 

We also say “cut and dried” or “open and shut” – 

meaning no further investigation is necessary. 

“It is what it is.”

Most of us freely acknowledge that there are nearly infinite shades of gray

as we advance toward or away from one extreme or the other – black or white.

The existence of all those shades of gray would seem to contradict the philosophical concept of absoluteness.

Nevertheless, absolute black and absolute white, in the realm of “color perception,” do exist,

and they are absolute in their representation of total blackness and total whiteness.

But are we misaligned in this interpretation?

I believe color itself is what testifies to the existence of absolutes.

And I believe the rainbow, with its unerring display of seven different colors from red to violet, 

is a natural witness to the existence of absolutes.

The stark and wondrous beauty of the multitude of colors in nature speaks more surely

to the assurance and confidence of absolute truth

than either the total absence of color (black) or the presence of all colors simultaneously (white).

“Black & White” gives us the temerity to argue against truth

because our eyes tell us all day every day that life is much more colorful than black and white.

The truth is colorful.

“Black & White” obscures the truth.

It is when we see in full color that we see the truth.

Life Is a Jumble

Life is a jumble of thises and that’s

(or “these” and “those,” if you insist)

Of cinnamon crumbles and baseballs and bats

It ebbs and it flows

It rises and falls

To the highest of highs

And the lowest of lows

Stuffed full with the corniest rhyming and rhythms

With splashes of horns and sparkling of cymbals

Tinkling of bells, explosive percussions

Music fills life in all its mutations

Moment by moment

The colors remain

Bright as the sun

Then gray as the rain

All of it is LIFE

LIFE in all-caps

From the first lullabye

To the sounding of taps

One bite at a time

Savored, enjoyed

The power of living

Of life

And of love

Smiles!

Our faces were made to smile.

Our hearts were made to shine.

Our hands were made for many things –

Hard work, helping others, creating beauty.

And our eyes were made to give us light.

The (seemingly) smallest thing

Can move us

A sight, a sound, a smell

And our face responds by shifting

Eyes sparkle, lips turn up, dimples deepen

…but…

Sometimes the smiles disappear.

Broken hearts and grieving faces hurt.

Eyes weep bitterly, and hands are wrung in despair.

Whether it is a slow trickle of persistent tragedy

Or an unrelenting avalanche of pulverizing trauma,

Sometimes our defenses crumble

And we are paralyzed by grief and pain.

…and…

These are the times

When we need “the best medicine”

In any sized dose

As often,

 as boisterously,

or as gently as possible.

The “smallest thing”

Can be the “biggest thing”

When it ignites a smile

That starts on our face,

reaches into our heart

draws our hands into the air

and sets our feet to dancing.

Life Is Messy

Besides the proverbial

blood, sweat, and tears,

there's mud

and slime and filth,

worries, fears,

bugs and rodents,

dashed hopes,

unfulfilled dreams,

betrayals,

disappointments,

sorrow, pain,

unhappy times,

embarrassments,

humiliations,

and thwarted expectations,

and a seemingly endless litany

of grief and loss.

Yet through the blinding mist

and darkness of the mess

shines a light,

which draws us onward

toward joy and peace

and love

and laughter - 

to Life!

All the ugliness

prepares our eyes

to see the beauty;

and 

the beauty

strikes us deeply,

lifts us up,

gives us a song,

and air to breathe.

Incongruity

The moments speeding by

Touch us

Surround us

Change us

They stamp upon us an eternal impression

Of perpetual incongruity

A distinct sensation

Of having seen and felt and experienced something

Achingly profound yet so fleeting

A whisper disguised as a shout

An affirmation that sounds like an insult

A pat on the back that feels like a slap across the face

Like a newsreel jittering through the pressure roller

Confusing my flicker fusion threshold

Fits and jumps and false starts

Perceiving things without truly seeing them

Bits and pieces

A slashed up mashup

Vision interrupted

Senses on hold

As the world speeds by

Trailing a jangling crowd of incongruous shrapnel

Bouncing and ricocheting on the path before me

Leaving me stunned, amazed, and mute

With unrequited expectation