Universe
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…
Looking into the Face of a Dandelion Puff
Click for meditationRegarding "Looking into the Face of a Dandelion Puff"
When I looked at that
Dandelion puff, my immediate thought
Was I was looking at a facsimile
Of what the Big Bang must have first
Appeared in the beginning salvo’s
Nanoseconds…an ever-expanding,
Billowing, outward scattering,
Which to this very minute
After fourteen billion years
Still continues! What mystery!
What breath to set all that in motion!
And what a breath we, too, have,
Created as we are in God’s image,
To likewise seed our own self-made
Universe, an aspect of mine
Being my meek garden, which
Sits astride one mere acre of this
Blessed planet earth!
Leo Carroll
June 29, 2019
I have seen the universe,
But not through some telescope’s
Unimaginable magnification,
But with my own eyes
As they burrowed into the
Innocent face of a dandelion puff,
Where before my gaze
Unfolded a microcosm of God’s
Creation, just like at the
Big Bang, when The Almighty’s
Lips gently blew…and little
Star seeds were sown to the far
Corners of somewhere…
September Sunrise
Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park
Click for meditationRegarding "September Sunrise"
In truth, it is impossible to describe the
Mystery and wondrous effect of the sunrise
Which unveils Itself daily before onlookers
On the summit of Cadillac Mountain in
Acadia National Park. In fact, during certain months
Of the year, it is this location where the
Sun first appears on the horizon in the entire
United States, and which is so amazingly
Spellbinding in the glimpse and insight it provides
Into the overwhelming magnitude and
Majesty of the universe, and of the meaning of
The Word of Creation as found in the
Book of Genesis. When the photographer for
This poem speaks of the early moments
When the sunrise began to unfold, her eyes
Immediately spark alive with shining light, as if
She herself had captured a bit of the sun,
And within her it now eternally resides…and so,
It is her eyes which can speak best, because just like
With Saint Paul, her uttered words pale compared to the
Glow of the yellow and flame-orange red…
Leo Carroll
October 7, 2018
As if it was the first sunrise
E’er to be seen, rose up before the old
Mountain a burgeoning glow of
Ancient hues in a spreading
Smile unveiled, a widening expanse
Of yellow and flame-orange red…
All resulting in a deep longing, and beheld
By wondrous faces with bated breath.
What eternal yearning, what
Instinct from the collective subconscious of
Primeval yore, what was being
Unleashed with such hypnotic power
O’er those who watched in awe…?
For it was as if they stood millennia ago —
At a cave mouth looking up — and the
Rising sun told them that ahead was at least
One more day, in a land wild and raw,
With terror and beauty tangled in
A tandem yet to be explained.
The Universe’s Manger
Click for meditationRegarding "The Universe’s Manger"
Seeing the
Beating heart of the
Baby robin was like looking at the
Beating heart of
All of earth’s life –
Every life, every heart, all
Combined into
Just one life, one
Single, big beating heart,
A composite heart, and
All shown to me
From my living room
Window, where a
Robin’s nest
Was but bare
Inches away in
A boxwood shrub,
And rather than having to
Travel to strange
And exotic
Lands in search of
Strange and exotic life,
All I had to
Do was to peek
Through the glass and
See the embodiment and
Meaning of all life,
Any kind of life,
Wherever it
Resided in this
Universe, and it
Was safeguarded in
Front of me by
A mother robin,
Which humanity would
Zoom light years to
See, if it was ever rumored
To chirp on another
Planet’s rock.
Leo Carroll
May 16, 2018
Is there a life
With more meaning than
Yours? Is there pink
Flesh I should more honor
In awe?
Is there a heart
Which sweeter, lighter beats?
Is there a clearer
Chirp of born again, new
Beginnings?
Is there a season
Which comes with gladder
Tidings? Is there a
Warmer nest to soothe
Robin’s crying?
Savasana in Winter
Click for meditationRegarding "Savasana in Winter"
We are a society which relies on
Science and technology to explain things to us, and to
Make easier our lives now and into the future.
In other parts of the world, this is not
Necessarily so much the case, but here in the
United States, science and technology rule
Our daily lives. And so, when things happen
Which are not readily explainable, we are
Perplexed and left looking for answers…
As a simple example, how often is it
That when we are strongly thinking about
Someone that we by chance then
Happen to meet them at a gasoline
Station or while shopping in a
Supermarket, or when a loved one
Comes into our mind who is deceased,
That the next thing we see is their
Favorite bird…? Ordinary things.
Everyday occurrences. And so on and on…
These things to me are mysteries
Which shout out that something
Bigger than we are is at work and is not
Readily explainable, at least as far as
We can understand. About five years ago
I was in an early morning yoga class,
And towards the end of the hour
The yoga instructor asked us to lie
Back onto our mats into savasana pose,
Where we would typically spend
Five to ten minutes in a meditative,
Almost trance-like, relaxing state.
On this particular day, as my mind
Started to relax, it still tangentially clung
Onto something which I had been previously
Thinking about. Then, as I was lying in
My savasana pose, I felt something
Lightly nudge my extended right hand.
The gentle contact got my attention,
And then I felt it again…and
Again…and so I slightly raised my
Head to peek, and there snuggling
Next to my hand was a little red
Medicine ball. Where it came from I
Do not know! The yoga class had
Not been using these, but somehow
This little red ball had probably rolled out of the
Classroom closet and crept across the
Hardwood floor and found me, and started
Touching me, not just once but multiple
Times, in a comforting, consoling way.
It was as if my flesh was being
Tended to by an inanimate object!
And strangely, I immediately sensed that
What I had been thinking about
Was going to be okay…
Leo Carroll
March 7, 2019
I felt it on my right hand,
A touch, a very light, imperceptible
Touch, an almost tender form of
Intimate communication and connection
And unexpected affection — when
I was otherwise immersed
In the midst of settling slowly
Into my meditation, and waiting up’n
A trance to relieve my mind —
I felt it, and then again, and
So I raised my head slightly from
My yoga mat to take a discreet,
Quick peek, and there,
Behold, nudging me with soft
Persistence and love was a
Small, red medicine ball,
Six inches in diameter, which
Had somehow rolled itself across the
Infinite expanse of the universe,
And was now reminding me
I was not alone, and any earthen
Concern was fleeting when
Before Creation’s power
Was compared…