Someone Big
(Amanda Meisenheimer)
“If you can’t find your god in the grit of this life, your god is not so big.”
Where do you find God in the grit of life around you?
A poem by 14th century Persian Poet Hafiz (1320-1389 CE)
Translated by Daniel Ladinsky
Some
gods say, the tiny ones,
“I am not here in your vibrant, moist lips
that need to beach themselves upon the golden shore
of a naked body.”
Some gods say, “I am not the scarred yearning in the unrequited soul;
I am not the blushing cheek of every star and planet—
I am not the applauding Creator of those precious secretions that
can distill the whole mind into a perfect wincing jewel
if only for a moment;
Nor do I reside in every pile of sweet warm dung born
of the earth’s gratuity.”
Some gods say, the ones we need to hang, “Your mouth is not designed to know His, love was not conceived to consume the luminous realms.”
Dear ones beware,
beware of the tiny gods frightened men
worship
To bring an anesthetic control and relief
to their sad
days.
This episode was written and recorded by Amanda Meisenheimer. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear and Woods by Corrina Repp.
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Amanda Meisenheimer is the Minister of Children and Families at The Riverside Church. She is an author and speaker and you should definitely follow her on twitter at @mandymeis.
This season of Be Still and Go is supported in part by Convergence as they help share each episode with their community. (You should do the same!) Convergence is a network that supports the reshaping of organizations, congregations and leaders engaged in an age of movement from “organized religion” to “organizing religion” driven by the values of an inclusive, progressive theological vision for a more just world for all. Visit www.convergenceus.org to find out more.
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