Sunday Thoughts

From One Mountain, Many Paths
An American Freemason Speaks Out for Peace
by Dr. Patrick Swift
Click on the above to go to the book page and buy it for yourself,

To those who are good to me, I am good; and to those who are not good to me, I am also good.

Tao Te Chin 49
Taoism

It may be that Allah will ordain love between you and those of them with whom ye are at enmity. Allah is Mighty, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful

The Meaning of the Glorious Quran 60:7
Islam

I opened the book last evening at random and they came to these two quotations. Now I don't really believe in randomness where spirituality is concerned. I believe that the Great Spirit sends us the message we need. These two quotes reminded me of a poem by a Cuban poet. So I went to our "Great Library of Alexandria" (The Internets) put in white rose and Cuban poet and voila there it was.

The more I read "I Cultivate a White Rose" by Jose Marti, the more I see in it, and the more mysterious it becomes.

I Cultivate a White Rose
I cultivate a white rose
In July as in January
For the sincere friend
Who gives me his hand frankly.

And for the cruel person who tears out
The heart with which I live,
I cultivate neither nettles nor thorns:
I cultivate a white rose.

I found this poem when I was in college (eons ago) and fell in love with it then and I still love it now. Even after 40 years of knowing the poem it still has the power to bring tears to my eyes and a catch into my heart. That is power. Or maybe I am just a sentimental old fool.

Over the past 12 months I have had some things happen to me that hurt me deeply. Deeper than ever was done before. No matter that it was perceived as being "my fault" - by me as well as by others. The hurt was there. Now we are at a place where I have decided to move on and stop trying to be a friend to that person. Do I hate him? No, I cultivate a white rose.

 I have others who are my friends. Some I didn't even know about. Michael stopped me for a visit at the Scottish Rite the other day. He said some very nice things to me.

The next thing was I found this in the comments on one of my posts. I love it.

You are a Masonic treasure- always full of Light, bright, shining and radiating. Shake those Blues... take it from a new bulb...there is a need for your Wisdom and inspiration.

I dedicate a poem to you:

It's A Whole New Scene

Sometimes when I'm feeling blue
and it seems I just don't know what to do,
I cool myself down and try to put things in order...
I turn myself on and ideas flow like water.
Some I heed and some I don't;
Some I'll need and some I won't.
Some I'll store on my safekeeping shelf
and some I'll turn into Spiritual wealth.
I'll separate the colors and pull out the Blues
and breaking those down will leave me with two-
having broken down the blues into it's yellows and greens
they become the Sun and New Light
and It's A Whole New Scene!

Fraternally,

Michael A Washington

I love the imagery in that poem! Everyone should have a "safekeeping shelf" and breaking down the blues - wow!

Michael calls himself a "new bulb" because he has just joined our fraternity. But I am coming to know him as an "old soul" there is so much wisdom and love in his being he has to have been around for a long time.

So even though I have been cursed at and derided I bear no enmity towards any person. I try to have only love (white roses) for everyone. I have great friends who I love and who love me. That is what it is all about (life) - I feel sadness  for lost friendships but I will "go to the left hand pasture" (never the right hand for me) - I just don't need to feel less than I am. And what is that? That is God's child (imperfect yes but God's child nevertheless) and you know, so are they. Each of us have our own path to take. "There are many paths to the top of the mountain - But the view is always the same." Someday perhaps. Until then. Thanks for stopping by and thank you Patrick for your wonderful book. jcs

Namaste

Sunday Thoughts

From One Mountain, Many Paths
An American Freemason Speaks Out for Peace

Click on the above to go to the book page and buy it for yourself,

Know all human beings to be repositories of Divine Light”
Stop not to inquire about their caste;
In the hereafter there are no castes.

Shri Guru. Granth Sahir 8:3.I
Sikhism

The whole idea of caste is something that I have never understood. Why one group of people should be “better” than another group. And then have to stay that way and for some of them to be designated “untouchable” absolutely boggles my mind.

At one time I had a student from India in my class. It became obvious to me that their family was from the Brahman caste in the way they held themselves and the way they behaved toward others. I didn’t say anything about it because it was not the child who behaved that way but rather the mother. They had brought their culture with them.

I can also remember when I was in Egypt that there were some people there who felt that they were “superior” to others. They were bemoaning the fact that Cairo was no longer the “Paris” of Mediterranean. It was obvious that having money defined them as “better” than the others. There was one woman who was rude enough to laugh at me for putting salt on my watermelon. Her self-perceived superiority was showing through.

The belief in some countries that someones "blood is Royal" or the hunt through genealogy records to prove that someone famous was their ancestor (I suppose to prove that they  are "better" because of this) is incomprehensible to me. I mean So What! Blood is blood and everyone has the same or else when they need a transfusion they would only be able to use other so called "royal blood."

I have seen the same attitude from those who have “worn the purple of the fraternity” upon their honored shoulders. They forget the admonition that “he who is elevated for the moment, but serves the rest.”

No one is better than anyone else in the eye of the Divine. There is another quote from the book that fits here. Patrick uses a different version but I love the King James Version

Acts 10:34-35 (King James Version) Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

I try to see everyone as God’s perfect child. Of course, there are some people who make that extremely difficult. Their attitude and treatment of others obscure the good but it is still there. Just harder to find.

I was reminded of the concept of Namaste when I read a blog today. I share it with you here..

Namaste