Meditating to Heal

battlefield death – no celebration. . .

he lives in a tent. . .

under the bridge!

eats from the garbage bin

behind the IHOP

drinks from the hidden bottle

swiped from the liquor store –

brought home, no coffin, no body bag

he dies another horrific death. . .

every day he awakens

a Bronze star still pinned to his chest

. . .

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

to truly enjoy nature is to experience absolute tranquility

one cannot notice the tiny ant exploring the leaf of the vine

as it violently assaults the husk of the tree in its everlasting

quest for absolute light and warmth from the morning Sun.

 

silence is also a requirement for space our brains to breathe

creativity ne’er comes from bedlam, nor travail, nor revelry

our creativity needs the quietude of space to allow the whispers

of God to enter our hearts allowing us His voice to lead.

 

The Gift of Silence – A Necessity: A Space to Breathe

God’s Grace of Peace – A Blessing: Infinite Life

 

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

To be truly the one we can be a never-ending struggle in our world today, when everything outside our vision tugs at our attention, the very core of our values, and our ever-working realization of life. Every which way we turn we are invaded by the desire to ingest the latest invention of our laboratories to cure our invented diseases. When we turn up the sound ever-present visual house guest, we see dancing images of people and plastic bottles how they can be cured or lose 80 pounds by a little white pill; the scene then morphs into a group of healthy looking young people relaxing on a beach, but don’t get too much sun, be sure to use this lotion, also made in our labs to protect our delicate skin.

We cannot get away from this; it is on our radios, our TVs, our cellphones; our social media; and in our newspapers. We are prisoners of our created world; We have made it impossible to be with oneself.

Or have we? Have we become addicted to the self-image of scientific falseness? There are now all-body deodorants so that we do not smell at all. isn’t that great? Do we really just want to all smell like our perfumes or after shave lotions?

I have slightly too big ears and a broken nose; I have friends who have scars from having served in wartime; I have friends born with disabilities. Each one of these makes us unique. Let us be this way.

When the stress of life drains the love from my heart, the chimes of the Holy Spirit ring in a new day of grace, reminding me to be not afraid. The past is gone, and even though the future is dim and unsure in my sight, the chimes of the Spirit assure me that God is with me as I traverse the path of adventure.

So, let us smell! Let us be a little plump! Let us be a little shy or unnerved by something! Each one of these traits belongs to you or me. It makes us who we are. God loves us; We love you.

Be comfortable with who we are! Be comfortable to be with ourselves!

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

My life lifts me from my darkest incubi

for God gives new birth each day

to my waking soul

I am never broken by minor hardships,

or defeated by others who take by the oneness

and inward-turned desires

for greatness and possessions

of those seeking the falseness of great material wealth.

As I walk through the forests of God’s creation

I am surrounded by treasures more valuable

and filled with such unimaginable glory that

neither age nor wisdom can accept as  

a reward for such glory and reward, for reward it is not.

I am born in a state of purity, love, wisdom and glory.  

It has taken me a lifetime of hardships

to find my way through God’s glorious forests

and fields of beauty and to the state of purity

in which I was born. Continue reading “Circular Paths” →

. . .I am that paper napkin from Popeye’s. . .

                               . . . forever floating in the air on Highway 10. . .

. . .I am that old rotting empty can of Bud Lite. . .

                               . . . crushed on the side of Penn Turnpike. . .

. . .I am the broken branch in the pine forest of Minnesota. . .

                               . . .waiting to burn in the next fire. . .

. . .I am the family stuffed in a 40-year-old Datsun. . .

                               . . .looking for work as pickers on the west coast. . .

. . .I am called the panhandler, holding a sign, asking for a dollar. . .

                               . . .a legless vet in a wheelchair with no chance to get a job. . .

. . .I am the man in rags, sitting in the corner of the New York City subway. . .

                               . . .scared of all who step over me in the morning rush. . .

. . .I am that naked Jew just outside of Jerusalem. . .

                               . . .Hanging from that Cross!

I want to share something I wrote many years ago and may have shared with my listeners and readers. Morning meditation is a strange thing sometimes, so here goes:

Chrystal-white sunshine:

As we sit here in central Virginia, awaiting the nor’easter that is threatening to shut down the entire east coast of the United States, I wonder what our values are. My wife, Linda, Wonder Woman as she is called at St. George’s Episcopal church, is fretting over what will happen if we have even a minor snowfall here in Fredericksburg. I fully understand her concern; with over 2000 pounds of fresh fruit, vegetables, and durable staples to distribute at The Table, she is concerned about getting this food to those in need. This is to say nothing about the storage problems we have with such an active church. Truly, this is an issue that a snowfall will disrupt.

However, and there always is a however; however, we might look at this threatened snowfall for what it can be. Major weather events that completely disrupt our everyday lives can be a blessing. If we take this time to sit back, meditate on where we are, where we are going, we might be able to live with ourselves with greater comfort. We must live in the moment; I know this is a popular expression, living in the now, living in the moment. Take hold of our lives and examine where we are. Several questions will push themselves to the front of your mind. Questions, such as to where we are going, and why. Questions whether our current lives are taking us where we want to be in ten, twenty, or thirty years.

Thirty-two years ago, I was in the photography business – unhappily. As good as business was, expenses for rent and utilities, costs of goods to produce our final products, customers always in a rush, were issues that kept me awake at night. Then tragedy struck: on the way home on the Friday after Thanksgiving, I stopped to make a left-hand turn. The alcohol-induced driver behind me failed to notice my blinker and rear-ended my car, driving my car under the wheels of a very large deliver truck. Six weeks later, I was still in a wheelchair. Five years later, I was the proud owner of a completely failed business. Fortunately, doors were opened for me drawing to teaching. I ended my depressive solace becoming a history teacher at New Providence High School in New Jersey. As luck would have it, more doors opened and I studied for a doctorate in literature from Drew University, and in my retirement years, became an adjunct professor of American literature at Germanna Community College in Fredericksburg.

The strange thing about this is that I had gone to college in 1961 to become a mathematics teacher; this did not work out, and after a stint in the United States Marines, I came home to help run the family business, which over the years morphed into the photo business.

I was not living in the moment; I was taking the way I thought would lead to a comfortable life. During my 25-plus years in business, I did many things outside to enrich those I knew. I had photography classes; I rented space to amateurs to develop their own photos in my labs; I worked with the local school systems to enrich their high school photo clubs and courses. I taught Sunday school at Christ Church in summit off and on for twenty years; and I led the Christian Ed program at the church for many years. Do you see a pattern? I was edging towards teaching subconsciously. I was not actively listening to my inner voice, and therefore, I was not living in the moment, or what I refer to as living in the now. I never really took the time to learn what I really wanted to do; I was too busy doing, not thinking. . . until that fatal night in 1985 caused me to think and consider my options.

I have been honored to be asked to be the key-note speaker at the Academic Awards ceremony at Germanna Community College in April. I’ll bet you cannot guess what my message will be for these bright up-and-coming future leaders of our society, be it local, national, or ever international. These are young students from all backgrounds, all ethnicities, and all religions. I have been blessed to have some of them in my classes. They are the future of Virginia and the United States, and, they are the best students I have been blessed to mentor.

That’s all for today; enjoy your day away from the Madding Crowds.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Gracious God, as we ponder our life, we see where our mistakes were and what we tried to do to correct them. Many times,

We overlooked Your presence in our lives. We erred again and again, until we accepted that Your light the path for us to travel.

We thank You for always loving us and keeping us in Your loving embrace. We pray that we can learn from both past and future mistakes, allowing us to walk in Your light, on Your path to glorify Your existence in all lives.

Amen.

Have we forgotten our roots in Christianity? Let’s be more basic, have forgotten the true teachings of Jesus? Jesus walked the earth preaching goodness, love, and simplicity. His only worldly possessions were the clothes on His back. Yet, He lacked for nothing. His relationships lack material possessiveness; and He invited us into the abundance of God’s presence. His only sermon was to those who struggled because of the cruelties of society.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul writes, “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” But we are unable to do this. We are hypocrites throughout. We pay more to Amazon than we do to God. Our quest for riches has turned us into the proverbial brood of vipers. We care more for material goods than for the man begging on the corners of our intersections.

We consume our own flesh. Our government gives enormous riches to the already super rich, and in doing so, robs what little the poor have, taking away housing, well-paying jobs, and basic human rights, such as quality education and quality health care. Just now, the mayor and council in our nation’s capital voted to spend hundreds of millions on professional sports and have cut spending on healthcare and raises for the working poor, with the promise that in the future things will improve. We’ve heard this promise before.

If I were an Old Testament prophet, I might write that God will strike down our kingdom and spread us far and wide for not following His way. He has sent a plague upon the land, taking our loved ones from us, separating us from family and friends. And nevermore shall our land rule the earth. Seven times seven plagues will spread over our lands.

But I am not an Old Testament prophet; I am a retired mentor of youth, genuinely concerned about the world they are inheriting. Are there leaders among our youth who will bring us back to a more reasonable path that we can follow, which will emphasize abundant simplicity and not overpowerful material wealth? I can only pray that there are. I see students demonstrating on college campuses against war; let us hope they pressure the government more for equality.

I do not know what the answer is; I am merely an observer, and a commentator. We must raise our voices and speak up telling our religious and political leaders that it is people that matter, not companies, machines, and corporate profits which go to private jets and other accoutrements. I remind us of what Jesus preached in his only sermon, only whose who live God, love God. Do we?

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

Watching . . . an unknown family –

A fishing line . . . drifting in the surf –

A little boy . . . body surfing –

A little girl . . . dreaming –

Mother absorbed in a romance novel –

Father watching the swirling kite –

                  shading his eyes from a bright sun,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Me, sipping wine on my 8^th floor balcony –

watching. . .         remembering. . .

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

a little boy holding a dead soft-shell crab –

                           far from his body. . . grimacing –

a little girl digging for sand-crabs –

                           her yellow shovel and red pail by her side.

All of us walking to the general store,

                  climbing a windmill, playing miniature golf,

after a bucket of crab legs and a bluefish caught. . .

                                                 by the little boy. . . not Dad.

Dad’s bluefish swimming off with his brand-new fishing pole!

               We know that family on that beach

              It was ours many, many years ago

             We know them well. . .so,

             We gift them all God’s happiness

             As they gather. . .

             their memories.

            May they too be blessed.

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

 

 

 

I often dream of my youth, lying on the roof

of the apartment house in which we dwelled.

Oliver’s woodlands surrounding my reveries;

the false aromas of nature filling my imagination;

the iridescent beauty of the pansies,

and the fields of bluebells surrounding

remembered Quonset sub-divide at Shanks Village

bringing thoughts of happiness to this boy

lost in the world macadam streets. . .

and concrete sidewalks.

The breath of God seeping through

the dirt and the crime of the city,

bringing true Joy to a young heart.

 

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

 

 

searching. . .  searching,

                               find spaciousness,

for open space unclothes.

 

letting thoughts flow,

                               forget perfection’s call,

curb the individual voice.

 

listening in prayer,

                               float on waves of love,

open the self to discovery.

 

welcoming the reality of God,

                               feel the freshness,

of the breeze within.

 

accepting truth and mercy,

                               gain lasting Truth,

. . . God heals.

 

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.