I was reading something on my neices blog and it gave me pause.
I want to share a poem I wrote when I was about her age...
early adulthood is a time of pursuing life in a very different way...and for me I was desperate for freedom but freedom did not offer me peace.
Peace can't be found or unleased...rather it is a gift...that only comes with surrender.
The irony is that I thought freedom which gave me power would give me peace...
but what I discovered, was just the opposite.
What we resist persist...and what we look at disapears.
Ghost chase you until you look at them and realize they aren't real.
Just the fears you have made them out to be...
No challenge, obstacle or pain is ever as frightening to face as your thoughts have made them out to be.

It is titled:
Where I Finally Found Me

Can you see all of me...do you feel all that is real
Lean in close to me...and listen carefully
I need you to hear...what I feel is real
The truth my friend...is coming very near

I have traveled through the murky waters
Like a captured daughter
All alone in the sea
Never knowing who I might be
Afraid to look at the reflection
Drowning in the deception
Everything all around seems to be still
Almost completely at my will
As if I hold the power
Like the sun upon a flower

I thought it was you who held me in your hand
Like the creatures of the ocean deep beneath the sand
Feeling overcome of what had not yet begun
Sensing everything was living
As I was barely breathing
Until I had the courage
To no longer be discouraged
But to delve into the darkness
That was stabbing with such sharpness
Walking through illusions cast in my mind
Working to unleash the chains that bind
I began to unravel all the twisted lies
Know I see the awakeining of the sun beginning to rise

Like the thundeorus storms that cast the boat a rye
Eventually daybreak sets calmness over the waters with a quite sigh
Lost in our own perception we set the stage
To be free to fly or trapped in a cage
Understanding is the wisdom and truth is the key
Allowing my truth to flow through is where I finally found me

I would like to take a minute tonight to follow up on my post from yesterday. I want to explain how I feel that it is so important that we all show respect for each other's belief systems and how dangerous I feel it is when one belief system is viewed to have all the enfluence over us all. Let me explain. I think a great deal of the reason that this country functions the way it does...with so many different religions, ethnicities and cultural differences is that we all respect each others right to do so. This is peace. When one sect of society begins to be seen as the dominant force, that is when tension rises and unrest begins. There is a reason we let the kkk have parades in thier towns and picketers picketing them. This, as bizaar as it seems, is freedom. Freedom to express even hatred and freedom for others to express their distaste for that expression. It allows people to feel they are being heard. When people feel they are being heard they feel validated. When they feel they are not being heard they feel opressed; this of course leads to rage and aggression. Another words civil unrest and chaos. This is why in my opinion I feel that the Government that is for all the people must stay neutral in governing...they can not afford to be seen as bias to one religious sect or another. That in essence keeps the peace. For those that are familiar with biblical text...the bible says, give to God what belongs to God and give to Ceasar what belongs to Ceasar. My personal understanding of this is that we are to have a personal relationship with God and be a light to the world through the actions of our own lives; but pay your taxes and accept the idea of a collective community, that is not always going to be in accordance with your own personal understanding of God for the sake of peace in that community. I will express at a late time what exactly my idea of government is...but I will leave with one question that I think when answered, will give you a good understanding of what you belive as well. That question is; do you believe that government should be in the buisness of protecting us from others or protecting us from ourselves? Because the answer to this question will touch just about every potitical issue we face.
As for my ending in the oped...I do follow what I would call a liberal christianity. By this I mean, my concern as a christian is to follow in Christ steps as he asked me to. To my knowledge, Jesus never once spoke about homosexuality but spoke of the need to help the poor many times. He is the prince of peace and promoting peace in my own life and in my community to the best of my ability is my concept of christianity. I will explain a few of these concepts. I am more concerned with poverty than I am with corporate profit rights. I am more concerned with my country being a beacon of peace than a profitier of war. I am more concerned about the children that are here, living with abuse, neglect, hunger and dispair than I am of women terminating pregnancies. I more concerned about a divorce rate of over 50% than I am about gay marriage or civil unions. Mostly I'm concerned about my country's blue/red war over the idea of working together to solve problems we all share.

well, it has been a while since I have gotten a chance to post. I work in sales for an ice cream company and what can I say? I am busy, busy, busy! I look forward to the fall when I can really spend some quality time posting. There has been something on my mind that I have wanted to share on this blog. The issue of seperation of church and state is something that a few years ago was beginning to cause me great concern, as the lines seemed to be getting blurrier and blurrier. I want to share an oped that I submitted to my local paper back in 2005. The article speaks for itself as to my opinion on this subject amoung a few other thing I will expand on a bit later.
The paper titled it;
To Maintain democracy, all voices have to be heard...
Our forefathers had the foresight to realize that in order for religion and politics to maintain thier integrity, it was imperative they remain seperate. In order to allow people of all faiths to be free and allow government to function for all, it was of the utmost importance. I am a bit baffled in recent years how the seperation has become so enmeshed, the lines becoming blurred. I don't understand why religious conservatives are under the impression that this a Christian nation. This is not a theocracy of any kind. This is a democracy where Christians and members of all faiths are free to live and worship. There is a lot of debate about "In God We Trust" on our money and "One Nation Under God" in our pledge of allegiance. May I point out that these things were added in the mid-20th century. Our forefathers did not put them there. Our forefathers did mention the name of God on government documents. I agree they were men of faith. They were men of several different faiths. In fact they were hardly fundamentalist. Benjamin Frannklin was a quaker and several were unitarians. I see the name of God, but I have never seen the name of Jesus on any document created by our forefathers. This notion that our country was based on Christian principals is unfounded. It was created by men who believed in a higher being who had given each of us free will and freedom of liberty. They were not going to allow a governmment to take that away from them ever again. I fear this country is headed down a dangerous path. If we want to maintain our democracy all voices have to be heard. I myself am a believer in Christ and I am baffled by so many Christians who feel so convicted about their positions on homosexuals and abortion rights. But they seem to have no problem with the death penalty, war, poverty-so many things Jesus denounced. Remember the prince of peace? No more eye for an eye, but forgiveness and love. Feed the poor and love they neighbor: Why have you all forsaken his message?