Hope
Abraham
Could a person ever
Possess the towering presence
And gravitas to “negotiate” with
God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of
Heaven and earth and all things
Beyond and beyond…?
The answer would seem a
Resounding, “Absolutely not,”
Because humankind has
Neither the eyes nor the ears
Nor the mind to behold
The essence and likeness of the
Lord God. In the minds of
Believers, however, if a name
Were ever to be humbly
Proffered forward to
Negotiate with God, it
Probably would be that of
“Abraham” – – considered
By scholars to be a common
Patriarch of Judaism, Christianity,
And Islam. And, in fact, in
The Book of Genesis,
Abraham is actually
Portrayed as trying to
Convince God (Yahweh)
To spare the evil towns of
Sodom and Gomorrah.
In a surreal dialogue,
Abraham asks God if He
Would spare the sinful towns
If there were only 50 just
Men living within them…?
God consents, and
Says He would do so…
Then Abraham takes it a
Step further, asking
What about if there were
Only 45…,40…,30…,20…, and
Ten just men…? To each
Question, God relents and says
He would spare the wicked
Towns. And so when the final day
Did come, and Sodom and
Gomorrah were destroyed,
There was only ONE man who was
Saved, and his name was “Lot.”
God drew the line in the
Sand at ONE just man!
This is an important lesson.
God is infinitely more
Compassionate, forgiving,
And magnanimous
Than we are, and in the
Book of Genesis all it took
Was ONE just person
To soften the heart of God.
And thus, the Creator is endlessly
Searching for that simple
Mustard seed which exists in
Each of us, and which
Has sprouted and flowered
Into a tree magnificent.
Today, there are examples of
Corrupted corporations,
Governmental organizations,
Institutions of higher learning,
Religious denominations,
And on and on, all of
Which have egregiously failed
Those they were serving.
This is a sad fruit of the
“Human condition” under
Which yoke we heavily labor.
Things are imperfect, very imperfect!
We hope for the best but
Sometimes get the worst!
The temptation is to
Throw the baby out with
The bath water! But to that
Approach, God disagrees…
In all things there is
Something good, even just
ONE thing! The story of
Abraham teaches this truth.
We need to be open to
The existence of good and
Nurture it like a dying ember.
All good can be made to bloom
Into something bright, and
We can be the ones to the breath
And loam provide…
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…
One in Creation
(Squirrel, Peanut, and Woman)
Click for meditationRegarding "One in Creation"
I recently received
A video from a woman, who told
Me it was about a
Squirrel which had grown
Used to coming
Onto her porch. And so I
Started to watch the
Video, and the longer I
Watched it, I became
Engrossed in the
Movements of the
Squirrel as it shyly and
Cautiously pattered about
The woman’s porch.
There was something
Hypnotic about the squirrel’s
Manner, and the
Video soon evolved into
A drama which was
Both captivating and
Meditative. And then,
All of a sudden, I was jolted
Awake out of my concentration!
I saw on the video the
Source of the squirrel’s
Perpetual motion —
An arm appeared in
The corner of the
Screen in the video,
And held by the arm’s
Fingers was a peanut shell!
I was immediately
Reminded of the
Commonality of the
Connections which bind all of
Creation, and I realized
My own life had mimicked
The behavior of the squirrel…
The squirrel’s seemingly
Chaotic movements were a
Metaphor for my own
Halting, herky-jerky journey
To touch the feeding
Hand of Creation.
And like the squirrel,
My life-long movements,
Also shy and cautious
And hesitant, reflected my
Doubts that at the tip
Of Creation’s hand
Could really be found
Acceptance and sweet
Understanding.
Leo Carroll
September 22, 2019
What is this
I am watching?
Is it simply
A squirrel on a
Littleton summer
Porch, or is it more,
The meaning
Revealed
From within
Deep fathoms
Of my core?
How warily the
Squirrel moves, how
Across the
Floor boards
It inches,
Backwards and
Forwards,
Gaging its safety,
Its curiosity
And caution
Competing to
Determine its best
Interests!
And then,
A surprise!
And who
Would have
Thought!? A
Woman’s hand
Wondrously
Appears,
A peanut in
Her fingers, and
Sure faith
The squirrel
Would take it,
No matter
How long it
Chose to
Linger.
Daffodils
Click for meditationRegarding "Daffodils"
It came to me
That my own pilgrim’s path
Resembles the
Seasonal flow of my
Garden in a four-part act, with
The fresh growth of
Springtime’s hope and
Rebirth akin to my
Ever-evolving
Renewal, followed
By the endurance
Required in the summer
Heat of July…a
Metaphor for the
Endless twists and turns of
The human condition
As it sits the beach of
Low and high tides…
And then the final
Burst of color and beauty
In autumn, before
Plunging again
Into the deep sleep
Of winter, only to
Arise again in April,
Pointed and poised to
Resume my journey,
But always bowed by the
Growing pains of
Bloom in my
Season of change…
Leo Carroll
May 7, 2019
…One of the first
Fruits of spring — daffodils
Buttery-yellow and
Dangling from the
Ear lobes of morning —
And at their feet
In fealty, the remnants of a
Once-magnificent,
Autumn leaf, placed by
Winter’s wind and
Now a companion
And witness to
The fresh shoots
Of daylilies green,
And all of these
Stirrings staring into
The stoic eyes of
Garden stones, the
Singular thread
Stitching together
My rock garden
As my shifting
Seasons unfold…
Spring Cleaning
Click for meditationRegarding "Spring Cleaning"
Birds are so faithful,
And in my opinion are
Attuned to the emotions of people
They encounter. The chirp
Of a bird can be so uplifting and
Mood-changing, and
Seems to come at the
Most opportune
Of times. I believe
Birds can “sense” our
Minds and emotions, and
Can be “there” when we need
Someone or something
To be “there!” So
Often I have been
Stunned by the ministry
And blessings of birds.
Chickadees, in
Particular, are good
Examples of this. They
Are tiny, but their
Hearts are so large!
Once on a cold and raw,
Autumn day in New
Hampshire, I was standing
Beneath a very large pine in the
Woods and watching a
Flock of chickadees about
Fifty feet in front of
Me. Over a course of
Several minutes, they kept
Inching their way
Towards me, hopping
From branch to branch,
Until finally they
Were about five feet in
Front of my face…
Then, they all rose up with
A rush, with the feathers
Of one of them brushing my
Right cheek! What an
Expression of love that was,
What tenderness, what
A wonderful way to be
Touched by the wings of God!
And thus also this
Past spring, when I was
Doing cleanup in my
Garden after the snow and
Wind of winter, I was standing
In a bunch of leaves with
My rake when I heard a
Flurry of activity around me,
And I realized it was the
Love of chickadees
Returned to me again, as
They flapped their
Wings about my feet,
And anointed me with
Maple leaves fluffed
About my boots without
My even asking …
Leo Carroll
October 1, 2019
A rustle in the leaves —
Surrounding and about my feet — and
Each maple leaf moves as
If fluffed by the wind,
But lo, ’twas not
A zephyr, but a gust of
Chickadees alighting like an
Angelic hymn!