We Rise

“We Rise”*

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Oh 
My
Goodness.

Is there 
Anything
Else to say?

How easy it is
To be
Overwhelmed,

To be
Daunted
By the world’s
Grief?

How easy
It is to 
Scan
Headlines
With
Half
And
Eye,

Protecting
Ourselves
From
The impact
Of
The
News?

The 
Tightening
Of the
World 
Presses 
Upon us.

And here 
It is.

The prescription
For living

From ions
Ago.

The Talmud,
The essence
Of Jewish
Dialoguing
Over
Millenium,

Debating
And
Discussing
How
To
Live,

How
To
Manage
The
Contradictions,

How to
Continue
To show up,
No
Matter what
Life
Is giving
Us.

Isn’t 
Everything
We might
Need 
For
Guidance
Live 
Right here,

In these
Few
Lines
Of 
Wisdom?
~~~
Hold the phone!
Says the coach
In me.

Wait
One
Moment.

What will
It look like,
Dear friends?

To love justly?

What will that 
Be in your life?

BE SPECIFIC,
Says the coach 
In me.

To love mercy.

How can you
Lean in
That
Direction?

To walk
Humbly?

Tell me,
Tell us,
Tell yourself—

How?
What will
That 
Look like
In your day?
~~~
Today?
This day.
Right here
Right now.

All of the 
Inspiration
And 
Commitment
On
The 
Planet

Will not sustain,

Without right action.

What is your
Right
Use
Of
Will?

How?
When?
For how long?
What will it
Look like?
~~~
What I know
Is this:

All of the inspiration
On the planet
Is empty
And
Unsustainable
Without
Action.

Please consider.
How do
You 
Choose
To show up?

At home?
At work?
At the polls?
In the grocery store?
In traffic?

Who do 
You
Choose
To be?
~~~
I choose
As best I can,
One day
At a time,
To be
An inspiration.

I choose to 
Be Kind.

I choose
To listen,
Without 
Trying
To change.
I choose
To see
The beauty,
The grace,
Amongst
The heartbreak.

And when I am not able,
I choose
To bless
Myself
And
To
Return
To my
Practice.

~~~
Oh, dear friends.  Listen to this song, please:

We Rise