Survey says

A fellow co-religionist wanted to find out information about people in our religion. I was happy to oblige.

ONE GOOD DEED: Take a survey for a friend about ADF religion.

EcologyFund.com

Most of us are familiar with charity click sites -- you click and are shown an ad, and that advertiser pays a certain amount to the relevant charity. EcologyFund.com is like this, but the interesting bit is that it has donation groups. I learned of this from an email list message from Paul Harrison of the World Pantheist Movement. There are many spiritual groups on EcologyFund.com so you can give along with likeminded spiritual fellows.

ONE GOOD DEED: Join EcologyFund.com and start clicking to save rain forest acres.

Preparing for Genocide Prevention Month

April has been declared Genocide Prevention Month. Today I started the ball rolling for a faith-based initiative to raise awareness of genocides and atrocities past and current. I hope that I can get several religious groups working together on this project.

ONE GOOD DEED: Start working on a faith-based initiative for Genocide Prevention Month.

Taking care of solitaries

I belong to a religious organization called ADF, and about half the members are what's called "solitaries." That is, they practice their religion alone rather than with a group, for whatever reason. Somebody needs to attend to the needs of all those solitaries, and I've been that person for the last year or so. It's all volunteer work. Today I helped a person looking for resources to create a liturgy to celebrate the coming spring equinox.

ONE GOOD DEED: Help a person in need of resources for their spiritual path.

Poetry for a person in need

I love when the good deed finds you. I was sitting here wondering what in the world I could do for today's deed. While thinking, I replied to a person on an email list. When I hit "send," I realized I'd just done my deed. The person had said she was having a rough time, and asked for prayers and poems suitable from a pantheist perspective. I searched my notebooks and sent a few that might fit.

ONE GOOD DEED: Respond to person's request for inspiring pantheist poetry

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Here are the poems I sent:


Simile of the Open Queen

This Earth may be compared to a queen who declared her body's love open to all. She sent her animals to call those who had been invited to her bed, but none would come. Again, she sent her servants, saying, "Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my bed with green leaves, I have lined my eyes with dew, sweetened my breath with sea salt, and decorated my dark skin with sprouting things."

Then nine came to call upon the Earth. Of the nine, one neglected her while another took her roughly. A third took her weight and measure, and a fourth sang of her from afar. The fifth and sixth fought over her. The seventh cut the locks of her hair. The eighth made her lie down to be walked upon as a carpet. And the ninth made poetry and went away.

For the Earth has many callers, but few lovers. The nine left her tired, worn out, bitten, and bedraggled. Yet the servants are still spreading her promise: "Look, I have prepared my bed for all. Come. None shall I refuse."



The Earth! So Great (to the tune of Amazing Grace)

The earth! so great, so wide to roam,
That bore a bum like me!
I wandered lost, but now am home
Wherever I may be.

'Twas earth that bruised my tender feet,
And earth that humbled me,
I crawled, then ran, then took my seat
Beneath the ancient tree.

Through desert's fire and ocean's hail,
And dens of wild beasts,
I've passed and lived to tell the tale:
How green the earth can be!

And when these stony feet shall fail,
And earth embraces me,
Then other feet shall roam the pale,
And climb that ancient tree!

The earth! so great, so wide to roam,
That bore a bum like me!
I wandered lost, but now am home
Wherever I may be.



Lectio Divina Natura

The air is dark and dark and goodly so:
The more a subtle sense to open. Hush--!
A log is kicked, it fumble-tumbles slow
O'er withered leaves that crackle crisp and flush
For but a moment... then begins to blush
A spacious silence... next, a rising hum...
And last a voice as from the underbrush
Enrhythms, like to whisper something-some,
You can't quite tell, but all the world is in its drum.



Haiku Collection: Crows in Winter

When winter descends
The somber-veteraned crows
Do not fear the cold

Undisturbed by gust
Nor gale, the well-entrenched crows
Stare down the north wind

While thirsty birds wail
For winter's cruel frozen joke
The crows drink the snow

When others quiver
And curse, the crows swish and swoop
Without a shiver

Hopping and cackling
For a winter breadcrumb's joy
Like a royal feast

In dead of winter
When all else is white as bones
Still the crows are black

Perching on ice-sheets
The crows hold silent vigil
For the coming thaw

Prayer following the inauguration

At This Significant Moment
(To These Five Things I Give Honor)

At this significant moment,
When frost hardens the furrows,
Granaries are all but empty,
And sons and daughters tarry beyond the hill in arms,

At this significant moment,
When the snowy field is surveyed by a new worker,
An unprecedented hand grips the plow,
And seeds of change shake in the basket,

At this significant moment,
When weight shifts anxiously from foot to foot,
Ruddy cheeks shiver,
And lips blow on knuckles like dice for good luck,

Let me in my way give honor to five things.

First, to Justice:
That wrongs past and wrongs current be set right,
That all may share fairly and equally in the harvest,
And that poor policies may be like nourishing soil for better ones,

Second, to Prudence:
That this new sower may judge wisely the stars for planting,
That we may hold no unrealistic expectations,
Nor make a savior of the man.

Third, to Fortune:
That the new crop may not bring mere change,
But that it may be change for the better,
And change for the best.

Fourth, to War:
That frenzied wrath may calm,
That enemies may be reconciled,
And that no death may be in vain.

Fifth, to Peace:
That whatever road be taken,
Our sons and daughters may follow it home one day soon,
And by the same road too may fare the safety of all the world's citizens.

At this significant moment,
As the new worker opens the door of the shed,
To these five things I give honor,
And we shall have these, the right tools for the job.

At this significant moment,
As the yoke is placed on the oxen,
To these five things I give honor,
And they will haul us through the difficult ground.

At this significant moment,
As my brow raises to the horizon,
To these five things I give honor,
And my hands know their role in the season of planting.

A prayer

Today I wrote a prayer following upon the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Then I posted it to the various spiritual email lists I'm on. It's not specific to any religion or philosophy, so it is broadly applicable.

People are so excited, not just in America but everywhere. I felt a prayer might help to focus that energy, while checking some of the over-zealous tendencies. I hope it is able to inspire someone.

ONE GOOD DEED: Share the inspiration of the inauguration with a prayer.

A stranger in need

Today I got an email from a stranger. The person found my profile and articles on a popular pagan web site, and felt an affinity. Her email revealed she was feeling lost and depressed, spiritually blocked, and needed someone to talk to. Now, there are two ways this could go: either the person is genuinely in need, or she is a leach fishing for attention. I've had bad experiences with the latter, and her email showed all the common red flags. But there was still the possibility of the former, so I sent a reply giving some general advice and pointing her in directions that might help. She replied with a simple "thanks." We'll see whether this will turn out well, or turn ugly. I hold out hope for the former.

ONE GOOD DEED: Help a stranger in need of emotional support.