The Carpenter

Something a friend on Spiritual Forums shared with us :)

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire, so he told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife, enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The elderly carpenter said yes, but in time, it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his dedicated career. When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the house.

He handed the front door key to the carpenter and said, "This is your house, my gift to you."

The carpenter was shocked.

What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so much differently.

So, it is with us. We build our lives a day at a time, often putting less than our best into it. Then, with a shock we realize we have to live in the house we've built; if only we could do it over, we'd do it much differently. But we cannot go back.

You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board or erect a wall.

"Life is a do-it-yourself project," someone has said. Your attitudes and choices you make today build the "house" you live in tomorrow. Build it wisely.

The Most Important Things I've Learned on my Spiritual Path

~ I don't have to be right. It doesn't matter who's right, it matters what's right.
~ My thoughts are not me. They encompass me, but they are not who I am. My mind is a perfect servant, but a lousy master. Although I live this life through my thoughts, I am so much more than that.
~ Judging is almost too easy, but sweet freedom really lies in just letting everything go.
~ We're never truly alone. If you're feeling lonely, go sit with the flowers or watch the trees waving their branches at you. They see you, they feel you, they smell you, they hear you. Don't forget The Spirit lives inside all of us and will comfort you anytime you experience loneliness.

A Spiritual Journey

There's pages I have left to write
But I can't tell you those tonight
I won't stop til it comes true
There's still writing left to do

When the clouds begin to part

And light shines through to broken hearts
When silent peace brings us to tears
We'll feel what we have missed for years

I won't know until you do
I won't know til it comes true
The pages stare right back at me
Blank with impatient agony

But I don't hold it in my hands
I don't remember any plans
I'm as blind as those that see
Ignorance is so lucky

Because once you start you cannot quit
And with this pen in my hand I sit
Awaiting what is next to write
In this journey through the night

If I hadn't turned the page
If I'd left the book where it laid
I wouldn't have found the emptiness
I wouldn't have found the inner bliss

The empty pages told a story
I knew if I declined I would be sorry
The book was open, here I go
But what to write, I did not know

And so, there's pages left to write
But I can't tell you those tonight
I would share them if I knew
But your pages are up to you!

Poems from the Past

Found some of my old poetry, going back about three years. Figured I'd share it on my spiritual blog because I really like finding my own spiritualism come through in an old poem. I can learn something I wrote about myself three years ago, and it'll affect me in a whole new way than it did when I first wrote it. That is what is remarkable about consciousness ;)

Shuddering, she throws the window closed
As paranoia swings from the tree outside
It won't be sleeping next to her tonight
Under covers she won't hide.

While the world spins randomly around
She's taking in the scenery
Covered in sugar-coated mundane thoughts
Wondering who she ought to be.

Wondering who she ought to be.

-------------------

I lay here, exhausted

Awaiting the sandman to make his rounds

He does not haunt me, but lingers near
Keeping me from drifting off.

So I lay, satisfied
The day is done and the sun is dreaming
Starry skies bring forth questions and yearnings
But I never know the answer.

Which way, is the right way?
I once rhymed years ago and I thought I knew
The path less traveled, it's obvious
So why can't I pick up my feet?

Day to day, I wonder
Where my heart and mind are leading me
I seem to walk around aimlessly
My heart and mind tend to argue.

Rash decisions, dangerous
But maybe just once, it is something I need.
Robert Frost, said it best
If I listen, it could make a difference

if you could run away
if you could find a place
to bury sorrows permanently
to live in peace for eternity
where no one talks down to you
where everyone tells the truth
we'd all be different and the same
no outcasts no racial names
to have tears only flow joyfully
to have blood only spilled for the needy
help our neighbors like our brothers
love our kids, respect our mothers
if you could find a piece of eden
if you ran away to be forgiven
if this hope was untouched and new
could you take me with you?

------------------------------------------

The crescent moon lights up the purple sky

As she stands on the side of the road choking on cries

There's vomit on the sidewalk and tear stains on her shirt
She hides it all until it comes down to this with no comfort
Where she was heading home from isn't the concern on her mind
It's the way she's been treated and ignored while she's waiting for her time
She questions allowed "What do I want?" and "Where am I going?"
The answers cannot be found tonight, and she drives away not knowing.

Tears still form behind her eyes, but she's gained some composure
She'll crawl in bed tonight at home thankful for the day is over
Inside she's strong and fearless, and she'd never let them see
The way she cried outloud tonight showing no mercy
She's got to carry on if she's going to make it in this world
And while it seems so hard especially being a nineteen year old girl
She'll make it through, she's fallen before and always been okay
Happiness stares at her, but it's just out of her arms way
She'll crawl that mountain more than once to gain an inch or two
And greet each morning fresh, beginning again anew.