Dear All of Us,
As a kid I had red hair.
Over time it turned blond,
then white and then
mostly just gave up
and took leave of my
now shinny head.
(Finally, I'm bright!)
WHAT A DIFFERENCE
over the years
As a kid I didn't like
being different,
being called
"Hey, Red!"
except when someone
said
"My, what beautiful
red hair you have."
I don't think I'm
all that different
than most of us.
I had to learn
to deal with
my differences
and with
those of others.
A birth injury
shortened
and
weakened
my left arm.
I sure was a
"lefty"
- left out -
of baseball
and basketball.
That difference hurt.
But look out because
my especially strong
right arm, lungs and legs
would run you off
the tennis court and
outdistance you in track
and that in record time
to say nothing of
formattable defense
as a right back in soccer.
Those differences
sure as heck felt good.
I have this theory that
difficulty and discomfort
with difference
is a prime problem
in mental health and
in societal accord,
both stemming from
souls stifled
fearful
of
difference.
Media and merchants
make their bucks
pressuring us
to duck and weave
to their manipulations
of difference
and
our discomfort
if we don't.
A simple and silly
style difference.
In my many years
it was once fashion right
to wear a bow tie,
then damn that difference.
Wide, wide ties were in
then outed with trim ones
and those outed now
with no ties at all.
Different religions diss
other religions for their
different views of the Divine.
They ignore the wonder
that God is so vast
that no one angle
sees or shows
more than that.
We'd get
a fuller picture
if we all shared
our different
views and angles.
Fascist pick out and on
a different minority and
get the populus convinced
that those folks are making
a terrible difference and
we have to get rid of them.
And of course
the fascist leader
will lead us to rid
the dangerous difference.
That galvanizes the power
of the fascist,
distracts and dupes
the masses
by brutalizing
an innocent but
different minority.
Cain couldn't handle
his brother, Abel,
coming in number one with
a very different offering,
so he killed him.
People still kill off
a lot of God Good
because it's different.
Looking deeply we see
the divine paradox that
God is
ONE
DIFFERENTIATED
That's Creation.
That's us.
That's rocks and rivers,
male and female
with some
beautifully different
shades and shapes
in-between,
salt and sugar,
savors of difference,
gentle, quiet people
and robust,
vigorously voiced
different others.
In God's design,
difference is
God shinning
in ever endless
radiances
of light, intensity,
hue and color.
To diss the difference
is to deny
God Goodness
Differentiated
That throws horrid shadows
that frighten and foul.
That darkens delight.
We are so afraid of that dark
that we do dark to self
and different other.
Creation doesn't
homogenize difference.
It glows through it and
WHAT A DIFFERENCE.
In starting to write
this weekly blog
eight and a half years ago
I had to embrace
the gift of difference.
I'm influenced
by the unique
manner and mode
of
Shakespear,
e.e.cummings
and most of all
Gerard Manley Hopkins.
I scatter words
across the page,
take liberties with lines,
particularize punctuation,
type tones, touches,
and tempos,
play a bit,
all in a free form.
That makes some people
crazy and they check out.
That's fine.
There's a library of
spirit sharing writers
available to us,
and that in
in many different,
marvelous styles.
Ron Rolheiser, O.M.I.
writes in long, linear fashion
and is it ever good!
Yet another is the
Daily Meditations
from
The Center for Action
and Contemplation.
It presents a kaleidoscope
of
different styles and writers.
I read it each day.
Sometimes the differences
stretch me.
I count that a gift.
This week I am sharing
some about me and
my dealings
with difference.
Now how about you?
I pray you
delight, prosper and share
in your
God Given, God Glow
Different Ways
May we all be at home
in our blessedly different
skins and souls
spirits and styles.
God wants to happen
as us
right where
just as
we are.
There are many different
God Good
gifts to accept and give,
souls to sing,
unions to create,
truths to speak,
needy to nurture,
impoverished to enrich,
depths to discover,
injustices to right,
jobs to do,
children to raise,
elderly to assist,
soils to rejuvenate,
poems to pen,
guests to bring home,
pies to bake,
endlessly different and more.
God is a Give Away
We accept
We share
God wants to make a difference.
That's us
AS DIFFERENT AS WE MAY BE
and
WHAT A DIFFERENCE
******
We gathered here are
as different as can be
in age, personality,
ethnicity, homeland,
spiritual gifts
and experience.
All are welcome.
Being together, well,
WHAT A DIFFERENCE
******
Again and always,
thanks to all who share
frankly speaking
with others.
You are our
one and only
Circulation
Department!!
NEXT ONLINE POSTING
Tuesday morning/afternoon
East Coast USA time
April 1, 2024
NO FOOLING!
NEXT EMAIL DELIVERY
Friday
April 4, 2025
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by
scrolling down beneath this posting
Praying us all the grace to be
and make the difference
God invites and others need.
See you next week.
Love to all,
God Bless,
John Frank
frankly speaking
spirituality for the street
johnfrankshares.blogspot.com
******
