My Two Favorite Words are Give and Forgive.
Sina
Poetry
Please enjoy some of our favorite poems.
-
Two Large Pots
Unknown
At City Club, we recognize and appreciate the fact that each member has his or her
unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our community so very
interesting and rewarding. To properly integrate into and enjoy our community, each of us
must accept and appreciate the other members of the community for what they are and look
for the good in them.So, to all of our cracked pot members, enjoy life, be kind to yourself and others,
Read Poem
and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!Two Large Pots
An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each
hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was
perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.
At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house,
the cracked pot arrived only half full.For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing
home only one and a half pots of water.Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection,
and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the
woman one day by the stream ‘I am ashamed of myself, because this
crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.’The old woman smiled and said; ‘Did you notice that there are flowers
on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?’
’That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower
seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.’‘For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.
Without you being just the way you are,there would not be this beauty to grace the house.’Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make
our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.-Author Unknown
-
The Invitation
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Read PoemThe Invitation
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a
living. I want to know what you ache
for, and if you dare to dream of meeting
your heart’s longing.It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I
want to know if you will risk looking like
a fool for love, for your dreams, for the
adventure of being alive.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 or fade it or fix itI want to know if you can be with joy,
mine or your own; if you can dance with
wildness and let ecstasy fill you to the
tips of your fingers and toes without
cautioning us to be careful, be realistic,
or to remember the limitation of being a human.It doesn’t interest me if the story you’re
telling me is true. I want to know if you
can disappoint another to be true to
yourself; If you can bear the accusation
of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and
therefore be trustworthy.I want to know if you can see beauty,
even if it’s not pretty every day, and if
you can source your life from God’s
presence. I want to know if you can live
with failure, yours and mine, and still
stand on the edge of a lake and shout
to the sliver of the full moon, “yes!”It doesn’t interest me to know where
you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after
the night of grief and despair, weary
and bruised to the bone, and do what
needs to be done for the childrenIt doesn’t interest me who you are, how
you came to be here. I want to know if
you will stand in the center of fire with
me and not shrink back.It doesn’t interest me where or what or
with whom you have studied. I want to
know what sustains you from the inside
when all else falls away.I want to know if you can be alone with
yourself, and if you truly like the
company you keep in the empty moments. -
From Sharing Silence
Gunilla Norris
Read PoemFrom Sharing Silence
Within each of us there is a silence- a silence as vast as a universe.
We are afraid of it- and we long for it.When we experience that silence, we remember who we are; creatures
of the stars, created from the cooling of this planet, created from the dust and gas,
created from the elements, created from time and space- created from silence.Silence is the source of all that exists, the unfathomable stillness where vibration
began- the first oscillation, the first word, from which life emerged. Silence is our deepest
nature, our home, our common ground, our peace. Silence reveals. Silence heals. Silence
is where God dwells. We yearn to be there. We yearn to share it.And yet in our present culture, silence is something like an endangered species-
an endangered fundamental. The experience of silence is now so rare that we must guard it
and treasure it. This is especially true for shared silence.Sharing silence with others is a political act. Silence brings us back to basic,
to our senses,to ourselves. It locates us. Without that return we can go so far away
from our true natures that we end up, quite literally, beside ourselves. We live blindly
and act thoughtlessly. We endanger the delicate balance which sustains our lives,
our communities, and our planet.I believe that each of us can make a tremendous difference. Politicians and visionaries
will not return us to the sacredness of life. That will be done by ordinary men and women
who gather neighbors and friends together and say, “Remember to breathe, remember to feel,
remember to care, remember life. Let us do this together for ourselves and our children
and our children’s children.” -
Just Maybe
Bharati Corinna Glanert
Read PoemJust Maybe
Just maybe… we were supposed to
meet the wrong people before meeting
the right one so that, when we finally
meet the right person, we will know how
to be grateful for that gift.Just maybe… when the door of
happiness closes, another opens; but,
often times, we look so long at the
closed door that we do not even see the
new one which has been opened for us.Just maybe… it is true that we do not
know what we have until we lose it, but
it is also true that we do not know what
we have been missing until it arrives.Just maybe… the happiest of people do
not necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything
that comes along their way.Just maybe… the brightest future will
always be based on a forgotten past;
after all, you cannot go on successfully
in life until you let go of your past
mistakes, failures and heartaches.Just maybe… you should dream what
you want to dream; go where you want
to go, be what you want to be, because
you have only one life and one chance
to do all the things you dream of, and
want to do.Just maybe… there are moments in life
when you miss someone — a parent, a
spouse, a friend, a child — so much that
you just want to pick them from your
dreams and hug them for real, so that
once they are around you appreciate
them more.Just maybe… the best kind of friend is
the kind you can sit on a porch and
swing with, never say a word, and then
walk away feeling like it was the best
conversation you have ever had.Just maybe… you should always try to
put yourself in others’ shoes. If you feel
that something could hurt you, it
probably will hurt the other person, too.Just maybe… you should do something
nice for someone every single day, even
if it is simply to leave them alone.Just maybe… giving someone all your love
is never an assurance that they will
love you back. Do not expect love in
return; just wait for it to grow in their
heart; but, if it does not, be content that
it grew in yours.Just maybe… happiness waits for all
those who cry, all those who hurt, all
those who have searched, and all
those who have tried, for only they can
appreciate the importance of all the
people who have touched their lives.Just maybe… you should not go for looks;
they can deceive; do not go for wealth;
even that fades away. Go for someone
who makes you smile, because it takes only
a smile to make a dark day seem bright.
Find the one that makes your heart smile.Just maybe… you should hope for
enough happiness to make you sweet,
enough trials to make you strong,
enough sorrow to keep you human,
and enough hope to make you happy.
Just maybe… you should try to live your
life to the fullest because when you were born,
you were crying and everyone around you was
smiling but when you die, you can be the one who
is smiling and everyone around you crying.- Bharati Corinna Glanert
-
Marriage
Kahlil Gibran
Read PoemMarriage
You were born together, and together you shall be for evermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in silent memory of God. But let there be
spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music,
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.- Kahlil Gibran
-
If
Rudyard Kipling
Read PoemIf
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master,
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!- Rudyard Kipling
-
Untitled
Patanjali
Read PoemUntitled
“When you are
inspired by some great purpose, some
extraordinary project, all your thoughts break
their bonds: Your mind
transcends limitations,
your consciousness
expands in every
direction and you find
yourself in a new, great
and wonderful world.
Dormant forces,
faculties and talents
become alive, and you
discover yourself to be a
greater person by far
than you ever dreamed
yourself to be.”- Patanjali
-
Children
Kahlil Gibran
Read PoemChildren
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And they are with you yet they belong not to you.You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are set forth.The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.- Kahlil Gibran
-
The Whole of the Holy Life
Andrew Cohen
Read PoemThe Whole of the Holy Life
In the early days of my teaching career, it became more and more obvious to me that
the Buddha was right when he said: “Association with like-minded people is the whole
of the holy life.” And that is simply because the holy life, the spiritually enlivened and
awakened life-if it is to have any real impact on the world-is about the sharing of higher
values with other human beings. Any individual can experience liberating insight and
clarifying revelation in the privacy of their own subjective interior. But when insight and
revelation are being experienced as part of a shared higher state, something truly sacred
begins to occur. The potential of a new, more enlightened world emerges here and now.
And then, when it is not only seen but also acted upon, that which was only an unmanifest
potential suddenly becomes a powerful manifest reality. We see and feel the world change
before our very eyes in the most real way imaginable.- Andrew Cohen
-
If It Is Not Too Dark
Hafiz
Read PoemIf It Is Not Too Dark
IF IT IS NOT TOO DARK
Go for a walk, if it is not too dark.
Get some fresh air, try to smile.
Say something kind To a safe-looking stranger,
if one happens by.Always exercise your heart’s knowing.
You might as well attempt something real
Along this path:Take your spouse or lover into your arms
The way you did when you first met
. Let tenderness pour from your eyes
The way the Sun gazes warmly on the earth.Play a game with some children.
Extend yourself to a friend.
Sing a few ribald songs to your pets and plants -
Why not let them get drunk and wild!Let’s toast
Every rung we’ve climbed on Evolution’s ladder.
Whisper, “I love you! I love you!"
To the whole mad world.Let’s stop reading about God -
We will never understand Him.Jump to your feet, wave your fists,
Threaten and warn the whole UniverseThat your heart can no longer live
Without real love!~ Hafiz ~
(I Heard God Laughing – Renderings of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)
- Hafiz -
Why I still believe in the future
Baruch
When I was a younger man, I believed that progress was inevitable—that the world would be better tomorrow and better still the day after. The thunder of war, the stench of concentration camps, the mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb are, however, not conducive to optimism. All our tomorrows for years to come will be clouded by the threat of a terrible holocaust.
Read PoemWhy I still believe in the future
When I was a younger man, I believed that progress was inevitable—that the world would be better tomorrow and better still the day after. The thunder of war, the stench of concentration camps, the mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb are, however, not conducive to optimism. All our tomorrows for years to come will be clouded by the threat of a terrible holocaust.
Yet my faith in the future, though somewhat shaken, is not destroyed. I still believe in it. If I sometimes doubt that man will achieve his mortal potentialities, I never doubt that he can.
I believe that these potentialities promise all men a measure beyond reckoning of the joys and comforts, material and spiritual, that life offers. Not utopia, to be sure. I do not believe in utopias. Man may achieve all but perfection.
Paradise is not for this world. All men cannot be masters, but none need to be a slave. We cannot cast out pain from the world, but needless suffering we can. Tragedy will be with us in some degree as long as there is life, but misery we can banish. Injustice will raise its head in the best of all possible worlds, but tyranny we can conquer. Evil will invade some men's hearts, intolerance will twist some men's minds, but decency is a far more common human attribute, and it can be made to prevail in our daily lives.
I believe all this because I believe, above all else, in reason—in the power of the human mind to cope with the problems of life. Any calamity visited upon man, either by his own hand or by a more omnipotent nature, could have been avoided or at least mitigated by a measure of thought. To nothing so much as the abandonment of reason does humanity owe its sorrows. Whatever failures I have known, whatever errors I have committed, whatever follies I have witnessed in private and public life, have been the consequence of action without thought.
Because I place my trust in reason, I place it in the individual. There is a madness in crowds from which even the wisest, caught up in their ranks, are not immune. Stupidity and cruelty are the attributes of the mob, not wisdom and compassion.
I have known, as who has not, personal disappointments and despair. But always the thought of tomorrow has buoyed me up. I have looked to the future all my life. I still do. I still believe that with courage and intelligence we can make the future bright with fulfillment.
Baruch (1870-1965) was a financier and an adviser to Presidents Wilson, Roosevelt and Truman. He read this text over CBS radio in 1953; it has been reprinted many times since, including in the book, "Edward R. Murrow's This I Believe: Selections from the 1950s Radio Series" (2010).
-
The Awakening
Sonny Carroll
A time comes in your life when you finally get it...When in the midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere, the voice inside your head cries out - ENOUGH!
Read PoemThe Awakening
A time comes in your life when you finally get it...When in the midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere, the voice inside your head cries out - ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying, or struggling to hold on. And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears and through a mantle of wet lashes, you begin to look at the world through new eyes. This is your awakening... You realize that it's time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change, or for happiness, safety and security to come galloping over the next horizon. You come to terms with the fact that he is not Prince Charming and you are not Cinderella and that in the real world, there aren't always fairy tale endings (or beginnings for that matter) and that any guarantee of "happily ever after" must begin with you and in the process, a sense of serenity is born of acceptance. You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are ... and that's OK. (They are entitled to their own views and opinions.) And you learn the importance of loving and championing yourself and in the process, a sense of new found confidence is born of self-approval. You stop complaining and blaming other people for the things they did to you (or didn't do for you) and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected. You learn that people don't always say what they mean or mean what they say and that not everyone will always be there for you and that it's not always about you. So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself and in the process, a sense of safety & security is born of self-reliance. You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties and in the process, a sense of peace & contentment is born of forgiveness. You realize that much of the way you view yourself and the world around you, is a result of all the messages and opinions that have been ingrained into your psyche. You begin to sift through all the junk you've been fed about how you should behave, how you should look and how much you should weigh, what you should wear and where you should shop and what you should drive, how and where you should live and what you should do for a living, who you should marry and what you should expect of a marriage, the importance of having and raising children or what you owe your parents. You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view. You begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for. You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you've outgrown, or should never have bought into to begin with and in the process, you learn to go with your instincts. You learn that it is truly in giving that we receive and that there is power and glory in creating and contributing and you stop maneuvering through life merely as a "consumer" looking for your next fix. You learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a by gone era, but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life. You learn that you don't know everything; it's not your job to save the world and that you can't teach a pig to sing. You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to say NO. You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake. Then you learn about love. Romantic love and familial love. How to love, how much to give in love, when to stop giving and when to walk away. You learn not to project your needs or your feelings onto a relationship. You learn that you will not be more beautiful, more intelligent, more lovable or important because of the man on your arm or the child that bears your name. You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be. You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn that just as people grow and change, so it is with love; and you learn that you don't have the right to demand love on your terms, just to make you happy. You learn that alone does not mean lonely. You look in the mirror and come to terms with the fact that you will never be a size 5 or a perfect 10 and you stop trying to compete with the image inside your head and agonizing over how you "stack up." You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring your needs. You learn that feelings of entitlement are perfectly OK and that it is your right, to want things and to ask for the things that you want and that sometimes it is necessary to make demands. You come to the realization that you deserve to be treated with love, kindness, sensitivity and respect and you won't settle for less. You allow only the hands of a lover who cherishes you, to glorify you with his touch and in the process, you internalize the meaning of self-respect. And you learn that your body really is your temple. And you begin to care for it and treat it with respect. You begin eating a balanced diet, drinking more water and taking more time to exercise. You learn that fatigue diminishes the spirit and can create doubt and fear. So you take more time to rest. Just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul; so you take more time to laugh and to play. You learn that for the most part in life, you get what you believe you deserve and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen, is different from working toward making it happen. More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You also learn that no one can do it all alone and that it's OK to risk asking for help. You learn that the only thing you must truly fear is the great robber baron of all time; FEAR itself. You learn to step right into and through your fears, because you know that whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear, is to give away the right to live life on your terms. You learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom. You learn that life isn't always fair, you don't always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting, good people. On these occasions, you learn not to personalize things. You learn that God isn't punishing you or failing to answer your prayers; it's just life happening. You learn to deal with evil in its most primal state; the ego. You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you. You learn to admit when you are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls. You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted; things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about; a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower. Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself, by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never ever settle for less than your heart's desire. You hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind, and you make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting and to stay open to every wonderful possibility. Finally, with courage in your heart and with God by your side you take a stand, you take a deep breath and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.
-
Growing Downward
Lao Tzu
Read PoemGrowing Downward
Be broken to be whole. Twist to be straight. Be empty to be full. Wear out to be renewed. Have little and gain much. Have much and get confused. So wise souls hold to the one, and test all things against it. Not showing themselves, they shine forth, Not justifying themselves, they’re self-evident. Not praising themselves, they’re accomplished. Not competing, they have in all the world no competitor. What they used to say in the old days, “Be broken to be whole,” was that mistaken? Truly, to be whole is to return.