Practice

Practice
January 17, 2006

Practice love, for there is no ending to its infinite reserves.
Thrift may protect your fragile heart
but it will leave you dry, dusty, and empty,
shriveled and preserved in a glassen display case;
archived like a neglected exhibit in a neglected museum,
a beggar lost amidst the wealthy,
a corpse wandering among the living.
Instead spend love wisely, which is to say spend it often,
for it is an investment that grows with every expenditure.

Practice forgiveness, for it will remove all enemies.
Do not delude yourself into thinking it a weakness,
nor that your enemy would cling to differences should you cease fighting for peace,
for the power to forgive is strength itself, and peace is never among the spoils of war.
You let him harm you and you let him control you
when you pick up arms to join against him;
Instead, make him your enemy no longer:
release him from your servitude
and free yourself from his power over you.

Practice patience, for it will loose the bonds that grow tight with struggle.
Do not mourn the loss of time which you perceive in each moment of stillness,
for the perception of loss is the chain that anchors you to the battle that can destroy you;
In haste, you may fight against all around you,
but you are fighting against the tide and will soon be pulled under;
instead, let the current carry you on a journey
and watch how the waters move mountains for you,
for your time shall be returned unto you threefold
in health, longer life, and the quality with which you live.

Practice perpetually, for there is no ending to these tasks.
They are not obligations that can be met through prayer or protestation,
neither through tithe nor tribulation;
They are not goals to be reached, but paths to be walked:
for if you stop at Pride to admire your success
you will find it has become undone.
At times of trouble, remember patience will come with forgiveness which follows from love:
Above all, practice love, for there is no ending to its infinite reserves.

Copyright (c) 2006 Mina Ellyse Warren

Possibilities

Possibilities
September 25, 1995

What is man's purpose in life? Is it defined more by what follows death? Death is the framework enclosing our life, but it should be neither feared nor scorned, neither looked forward to nor run away from. It will be there, surrounding us, but should not be viewed of as limiting us.

( ...remainder of a short piece I wrote on a subject I've been thinking about a lot lately... )