Sharp-Edged Shadow

Sometimes you must be
belligerent
about your decision
to be
You.

Especially with
that alter ego
you concocted
to mollify the
mavens of
patriarchal
hierarchy,

who prefer your
modest
deference
to your
insistence that
the You
you chose
is a perfect fit
for that
Ancient Soul
who laughs
at the notion
you owe
the rest of us
an apology

for casting a
sharp-edged
shadow
when you stand
under the same
Light
that shines on
All of us who
have every right
to be bold.

And, if I
bow
in your Presence,
please know
that I bow to
honor your
performance,
as well as
my own,

because I
rejoice when
belligerence
becomes
Holiness.

(Photo by Rene Bohmer; UnSplash)

 

Rhythm & Blues

I confess:

I believed,
not so long ago,
that being
my Self –
my “True” Self,
my “Real” Self –
was
The Grail.

I might require
a bookshelf full of
RealSelf-Help books and
a hard drive stuffed with
Oprah Winfrey videos.

But I’m
waking up and
rubbing the dust
from my eyes.

The light that’s
getting past
the piled up
words and images
is all the Vision
I need:

I love Oprah,
but I’m seeing
I’m every bit
as much my
True Me as
she is Oprah.

Who else
would I be?
Who else
have I ever been?

Now
the question is,
The Question
that’s serenading
my Imagination with
an R&B anthem,

The Question Is:

Can the
Real Me
finally learn
how to
dance?

(Photo by Drew Dizzy Graham; UnSplash)

 

Stop

You must
stop
lying to
your Self.

You must
stop
telling
your Self

You’re not
Who
You want to
be.

You are
already
Everything
You want to
be.

You just need
a place to
experience it.

That’s Why
You’re Here.

You’ve been
lied to.

They meant
well, but

You’ve been
lied to

by anyone
who has
told You

You’re not
Who
You want to
be.

You are
already
Everything
You want to
be.

(Photo by Janko Ferlic; UnSplash)

 

Lifetime Guarantee

Do you understand
The Gift
you’ve been given?

Let’s begin with
how you have
no beginning and
no end.

Let’s take a look
at the warranty
tattooed on
your Soul,
when you drifted
out of the
Mystery to
take on that
body,
the one you
chose –
it was no
accident.

“Guaranteed
to be loved.”

In spite of,
perhaps because of,

your highwire
acts of foolishness,
your defiance
of the adoration
that beckons you
with the
Magic Arts
of Creation,
your occasional
rages of
fearfulness and
doom.

A Guarantee is a
Guarantee.

Consider a possible
Adventure –
perhaps across
lifetimes, if
you need them –

wherein you
wrap your Self
in that Lifetime
Guarantee,

then step
back out on that
highwire,
this time with
a circus act that
defies gravity
with laughter,
that tightropes
over fear
with brazen
affection.

(Photo by Casey Horner; UnSplash)

 

The Method

I’m not a pro,
and maybe I’ve
misconstrued,

but I understand
there’s a Method
of acting wherein
the actor becomes
the character
they’ve chosen to
inhabit.

That sounds
exhilirating!
Perhaps for
my next
performance
I’ll become
a man who
mows his lawn
on schedule and
is handy with a
hammer and
power saw,
a man who prefers
a tent and campfire to
a slightly shabby
B&B overlooking
Bourbon Street.

But not this time around.

Whether I audition
for the part of a
sexy singer-songwriter,
or get to play
quarterback,
or CEO,
or prima ballerina,

I will live the part,
yet

I will remember,
as the sun rises,
and I’m getting into
costume,

that my Method
must embrace
my Soul,
the One that is
forever beloved
by The Love that
applauds that
I Am.

(Photo by Laura Marques; UnSplash)

 

You

If you knew
the You that is You
is all the You
You will ever be,
always has been,
and always will be:

Would it make a difference?

By “always has been”
I mean
always,
as in there was
no beginning.

By “always will be”
I mean
there will be
no ending.

By “You,”
I mean
the Loving Consciousness
that formed You …

Wait . . .

There was no beginning . . .

That Loving Consciousness –
let’s just call it Love –
forms You.
Now.
There’s no
past tense
when that
wasn’t so.

If that’s true:
Does it make
a difference to
You?

Is there anything
You still need
to be,
anything
You still need
to have,
that isn’t already
You?

Now . . .

Is there something
You want to
create?

Perhaps a
character
You’d like to
play
for awhile?

A dramedy
You’d like to
perform?

A hero You’d
like to
inhabit?

To demonstrate
how far You can
expand
the boundary of
Love?

Go for it.

(Photo by Sid Leigh; UnSplash)