Healing
New Wine
Click for meditationRegarding "New Wine"
In the Gospels, Jesus
Teaches His followers about
A transformative and revolutionary
Way to renew their spiritual
Lives — to “love thy neighbor as thyself,”
And in so doing to gently satisfy
The letter of the Law.
Jesus taught a liberating
Theology of how to
Live a good life, and when
Questioned He told the
Famous parable about the
Good Samaritan, to clarify the
Meaning of the word, “neighbor,” i.e.,
Anyone we encounter along
The pathway of life.
Jesus said that to accept
This new teaching would be to
Take on His “yoke,” which He
Metaphorically visualized
As a burden “light.”
All we had to do was to
Relate to our neighbors as if
They were a manifestation
Of ourselves, and to treat them
The very same way we
Would like to be treated.
And thus, the Gospels outline
A soothing yoke to be put
Upon the fragile shoulders
Of humanity – just like
Newly fallen snow kissing the
Faces of pansies in an
Easter Week planter,
Beauty upon beauty, Love
Upon love, Divinity upon divinity,
And Creation upon creation.
Leo Carroll
June 29, 2020
New Wine
And so was heard,
“The yoke I give you is easy, and
The load I will put upon
You is light,” and across the
Waters and continents
Blew the Word, and at that
Moment the pansies
Knew by the new-fallen
Snow they would not be hurt…
And so they confidently looked up –
Easter petals lain up’n by an
Overnight, fresh snow –
Beauty gently placed
Up’n beauty, Love up’n love,
Divinity up’n divinity, and
Snowflakes up’n pansies from
Heav’n to earth bestowed.
New Wineskins
After the snow
Came the beauty, but I never
Expected it would be in
The form of words…But rather just
The honor of fulfilling duty,
But not the Balm of Gilead to
Assuage the hurt…
Stone Wall and Flowers
Click for meditationRegarding "Stone Wall and Flowers"
Some weeks ago,
I was sitting beside the bed of a
Woman who was in hospice.
She has since passed away.
We were quietly talking, and
She was very reflective.
Out of the blue, she said
There were “two things” about
“Beauty” which were “important” to her…
She went on to say that
The hardness of a stone wall was
One of them, and that it was
Only equaled by the exquisite
Softness of the earth which
Nestled silently at its base.
She then continued, saying that
When looking up’n a stone
Wall, it was easy to become
Fixated on the wall’s strength and
Reliability and endurance,
But to overlook the softness
And gentleness of the
Grace resting at its feet – the
Meek grass, the wondrous
Autumn leaves, and the indomitable
Wild flowers. As I listened to her
Observations, I was taken
Aback, because although I
Had always loved stone walls and
Had written about them for
Decades, I had missed the
Complementary way in which
They blended into their environment…
That is, that duty (as represented
In the solid face of the wall)
Could not endure over a long
Period of time without the relief
Of a soft shoulder of love to
Lean and weep up’n. …
Leo Carroll
March 31, 2020
Against the stone wall
She gently placed some flow’rs, to
Complement the wall’s
Hardness in answering
The call to duty and honor…
And thus the wall
Finally genuflected, ne’er
Before having been
Brought to its knee…
Until a humble woman by
Her kind act — showed
That e’en valor needed the
Softness of beauty.
Whispers
Click for meditationRegarding "Whispers"
I recently spent three
Absolutely beautiful days on
Washington state’s
Whidbey Island. It was
A magnificent time,
Wondrous and peaceful,
The whole effect brought to
Gorgeous culmination
By the sun shining across
Puget Sound onto the shores
Of Mutiny Bay. It was
A stunning vista, a surreal
Majesty. Standing on
The water’s edge, it was
As if I was at Heaven’s
Gate, and all I had
To do was to dip my
Toes into the water
Or to wet my face with
The clear-as-glass
Saline liquid, and I
Would enter a portal to
Everlasting grace.
Leo Carroll
October 29, 2019
Path’s End
Could I have finally
Found what so long for I
Have sought, my first glimpse of
Heaven’s gate where the
Water purrs like a mirror
‘Neath the care of a loving,
Soft cloth…? And radiant
To me, presented as
Peace almost blinding
Yet abiding, beaming through
Gilded clouds, as if God’s
Face was unfurled in a
Predestined bottle
Shining…
Awe
My footprints stop at
Water’s edge, having finally in awe
Come upon a view of
Waiting heav’n…and then,
Realizing the Beauty
Was far, far more than
Mortal verse could
Express…I became
Speechless, content to be
A witness to the Mysterious
And unexpected…
Whose
And whose other
Footprints are these, has
Someone else stood
This shore and
Heaven’s gate also seen, a
Portal open through
Which a pilgrim can walk,
And into the Kingdom
Of Light be welcomed as a son
Or daughter of God?
Plea
Cleanse me, O Lord, of
That which I should
Not imbibe, and leave within
Me only the salt from
This flat, calm sea,
A metaphor I believe
For when I first became
Alive…and realized in
Your presence that
Terror was defeated…
If Only
If only I could wash
My face clean…all that would be
Left would be the salt of
The Divine…and I could taste
It with my tongue and
Up’n my soul let it lie…
Before the Throne
Comes to me the
Chirp of some bird, the buzz of
Some simple bee, and
Then silence, extended
Silence, silence like it
Was before was heard the first
Sound, and then before
Me shrugged the
Essence of All Majesty
And spoke, “What is
Your doubt, why is lament
So often your song?”
Beloved
Click for meditationRegarding "Beloved"
There is a place upon a
Beach, a low-slung cottage
Attached to tufts of sea grass and
Sand on a Whidbey Island bay.
It is brown and small and
Unassuming, a perfect place,
Especially if someone was looking
To lay their head upon a
Pillow safe. It looked
To me like a way station,
Where a pilgrim could
Pause before proceeding…
Proceeding onward to heaven,
Carried up a golden
Staircase by gilded rays
Shining through
Clouds overhead.
This way station would
Serve as a rest stop for
One final smoothing
Of the edges of the soul,
Where one could sleep, pray,
And gather the energy
For one final push to
Return – – to where we all
Started and to where we are
All invited back to go.
Leo Carroll
November 7, 2019
Jewel
…And to think I was
Shown all this – – a breathless
View of heaven, of a
Wondrous portal into peace’s bliss – –
And lying below a little
Cottage, snuggled close
To earth like a
Supplicant, and
Me metaphorically
Cloistered its walls inside, from
Where prayers could be
Whispered and
Straight to God’s ears
Uninhibited fly…
Cottage
What is it about this
Little place, something familiar and
Secure I think…? Is it perhaps
I’ve been here once before, and
Under the tutelage of the
Healing Light was bathed
And brought forth?
Yes, I feel like I do
Know this place, simple as
It is – – and pure – – a
Cottage I would like,
No pretense allowed,
Just a hermitage
To house the silent
Prayers of the lame,
Sick, and halt…and those
Lost but mercifully
Now found…
Cottage Re-Visited
Could it be this little
Cottage is a microcosm of me,
A hermitage huddled at shores edge,
Hesitant to lift e’en its eyes,
Lest they be seen,
Hunkered down its head,
Its rooftop fast and secured,
But bathed, nevertheless, bathed,
Because Creation welcomes
Each pilgrim at its door?
One
Click for meditationRegarding "One"
I know of someone who
Always says, “Life is full of second
Chances!” What an upbeat,
Nice thing to hear in a
World full of crises, cries,
And stresses! And so
Recently I was on a
Visit to the state of
Washington, and while
There had the good
Fortune to visit a place
For rescued animals called,
“Second Chance Ranch.”
This is a ranch where
A menagerie of animals,
Mostly farm animals, is given
A home to live out their
Lives in well-cared-for
Circumstances.
It is a very uplifting
Place, staffed by gentle,
Kind-hearted people.
I toured all the animal
Enclosures there, and felt
Blessed in the experience.
One of the enclosures
I visited was for pigs.
It was there that I
Particularly got a good
Feeling, as if I was also being
Gifted a “second chance.”
A little pig rubbed
Up against my leg, and
I realized that all
Humanity was not
Exempt from the inside of
The ranch’s fences…
Leo Carroll
November 16, 2019
Found, at a
Ranch for animals lost,
A friend against
My knee to lean,
A creature accepting,
With me willing
To be seen…