The Unclad Soul

What happened to our country? When did we lose our minds? Our souls? Our sense of compassion for all people and a desire to make the world better? There was a time in America when people mattered, when life was sacred, when the old rules of appropriate behavior, of manners and politeness meant something. They kept dissent reasonable. They helped us hold our tongues. There was a time when people worked out their issues with one another in reasonable acts of mutual respect. There was a day when the president of the United States was honored, no matter his party, or his policies. There was a time when the public school was loved in the community, where teachers were well regarded and appreciated for their important work. There was a time when the local church was a place of worship not a political ballyhoo, where hymns were sung and prayers were offered and reverence was felt, a time when the sermons were about loving your neighbor and not about voting against people. What happen...

“I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yelp over the roofs of the world.”  ~ Walt Whitman, American Poet  

 "It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it." ~ Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Writer/Mystic

“Sometimes I dream that everything in the world is here, in my room,  in a great closet, named and orderly, and I am here too, in front of it,  hardly able to see for the flash and the brightness— and sometimes I am that madcap person clapping my hands and singing;  and sometimes I am that quiet person down on my knees.”  ~ Mary Oliver, Poet/Writer

“Only my books anoint me,  and a few friends,  those who reach into my veins.”  ~ Anne Sexton, "The Complete Poems"

"Scientists have discovered that the small brave act of cooperating with another person, of choosing trust over cynicism, generosity over selfishness, makes the brain light up with quiet joy."  – Natalie Angier, Science Journalist and Writer

I was once a minister. When my marriage fell apart years ago and I was divorced I left the ministry thinking I would eventually get back in. That became much more difficult than I ever thought. Eventually I went into other things. I actually loved preaching. I loved the struggle. The demand it placed on me. The need to say something every week that meant something. I loved to research a theme. I loved the thought of looking at my faith in different ways. I loved exploring the whole idea of God. The what and who and where that always circles God. I never knew for sure any solid answers for any of that but I wanted to know. I loved reading and finding things to put in my sermons that helped bring my point home. I read everything: novels, poems, biographies, billboards, menus, greeting cards; anything that might me make think. There were messages everywhere and I wanted all of them. I loved writing. Someone once asked me which I enjoyed most, preaching or writing. I said I enjoyed pr...