March 17, 2006

"Standing on the Edge." is about teetering on the brink of hope, on leaping into faith of the unknown, of trusting the Universe to provide the next move. When life pushes us to the precipice of what we understand, only then do we assess our insight and confront our spirituality. Faced with knowing our fortune resides behind us in our experience, all that exists is the canyon of possibility whose floor we cannot see and whose outer limits extend beyond our reach. In our moment of complete vulnerability, we find our strength.

Patience
Perhaps the most obvious and common example of reaching our limits expresses itself in our patience. We've heard others bemoan the end-of-the-rope, the last-straw, and trying-our-patience. What really happens when we can no longer muster the quiet strength that patience demands - an explosion or an implosion? Standing on the edge of patience we seek immediate results and gratification. Faced with the possibility of no resolution whatsoever, our patience runs out and we give up. In this act of surrender we find peace. It's only when we quit waiting that we empower ourselves with the glory of the moment and acceptance of living life as it gloriously unfolds.

Thought
We bury ourselves in a barrage of thoughts and analysis. Quick to scrutinize every spoken word and behavior our thoughts capture us in a never-ending battle of curiosity versus peace of mind. While true, our thoughts elevate us from our current situation and great ideas spring from our imagination, but the mental cacophony of over-thinking wears thin on our psyche and we never get to peace. We reserve the power to control our thoughts and our mental self-talk determines our future. Standing on the edge of thought, we engage in either the freedom of innovation or repetitious, conflagrating self-talk that keeps us stuck in the heat of our own destruction. Your choice. You get to choose your thoughts. Pick some good ones.

Aptitude
Doing what we're good at never challenges us or encourages new growth. The world rejoices in the beauty of artwork aptly done and music deftly orchestrated. God bestows His gifts on us and we call it "talent," or aptitude. We attempt to explain in common sense terminology that we inherited certain qualities from our ascendants, all the while setting aside the notion that our abilities are gifts from the Infinite. Jesus once said "If you love those who love you, what reward have you?" Taking this concept further, let's ponder, if you do only what you're already good at, what have you accomplished? What you're good at comes easy, it's yesterday's news. Stand on the edge of your aptitude and dare to try something you've never done before. The echo of your new voice may sing back to you if you shout out your willingness to attempt the unknown.

Passion
Life moves us. We feel life from the wind in our hair, the sand between our toes and the sun on our face. Passion for life, for another, for the Spirit makes life worthwhile. A life devoid of passion stagnates and produces little fulfillment. A zeal for living each day to the fullest propelled by passion and fascination makes for not only a colorful obituary, but a well-lived life. Standing on the edge of passion we dare to admit that certain things or people move us, compel us, or inspire us. What is it about a person, a hobby, or belief that shifts us from passing interest to a stimulating gotta-have-it necessity? Certainly something more than hormonal urgency comes to play. Passion cannot be willed upon you, it rises up from your soul and cannot be contained. The object of your passion cannot be mere preference or a casual notion, your passion originates from a leap into the arms of life which quenches your soul.

Time
The eternal democratic governor, time effects each of us. We cannot escape the inevitable passage of our lives, yet we choose to live each day in ways that can either elevate us or destroy us. Faced with our own mortality, time offers each of us the blessing to revel in our earthly experience without knowing when it ends. A hundred years ago, modern medical diagnostics did not exist and most people lived full lives unaware of terminal illness or impending transition. Are we truly better off now, with the prognosticating efforts of medical professionals analyzing our DNA and predicting our life spans? Standing on the edge of our longevity we may peer into our genetic futures with some degree of success, but we disregard accident or chance in our equation. Some of us defy the perceived inevitable and outlive the prognosis of the medical journals, and others leave this life all too early by accident or undefined happenstance. No matter the duration or the manner, the precious gift is time itself and the leap you must take requires you to overlook the constraints of the calendar and live a full live, every day you're alive.

Love
More than a feeling, love inspired more music and both written and spoken word throughout recorded history than any other emotion. So powerful in its presence and expression, love works through us to bring joy and clearer insight in how we fit in the world around us. Cautiously, we attempt to spare ourselves sorrow by avoiding love, yet, taking the leap into the ocean of love fulfills us the most. Standing on the edge of love, we see the vast expanse of possibilities, the ecstasy, the sorrows, yet life is empty without it. What if all your love could enfold you and comfort you - as well as the entire planet? The possibilities for love are endless, the possibilities WITH love are priceless. Right there, on the edge, your toes curling over the rough rocky crags of love, dare yourself to leap into the loving spirit that embraces your oneness with life and brings meaning to your world.

Life
What are you waiting for? We postpone, we settle. We confuse, we excuse, we explain. Life waits for no one and is for the living. Life ties its shoes with the laces of your insights and allows you to walk through time. From the moment of your birth until your last breath, the life force within you responds to every thought you think, every act of patience you practice, every ability you express, every passion you enjoy, every moment of aliveness and everyone you love. The life within you is timeless, endless and always you. Standing on the edge of life, life waits for you to say "yes" to it, begging you to come home to the understanding of experiencing all manner of relationship to progress though eternity. Life, with its ups and downs, happiness and sorrow, success and failure and spiritual success and abstentions, is all we have. You were born for a reason and it's up to you to figure it out. It's your life - live it well and every now and then, when you can't see the bottom, jump in anyway.

Marlene



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