Wheel of Fortune

Holy Tears

Because it's Christmas I'm weepy---though the tears are not all sad---sometimes they are holy tears---tears moved by compassion, by stories of hope and healing. Because in spite of everything, or perhaps because of it, I still have a persistent belief in an ultimate goodness in the universe. And surely, that is what the message of Christmas is all about.

So I will cry my holy tears this holiday season. One of my dearest friends will soon be celebrating her 50th birthday---I'm going to gift her with a lacrimosal, a "tear bottle"----in remembrance and recognition of all the tears we have shared together in the past, and will certainly continue to share in the future. Life is indeed a mixture of happiness and pain.

But my tears remind me of the sweet salty brine of the sea....and that I am indeed, a member of the old mermaid clan....Call It Quits

If you're not a movie mogul, rock star, or President
if you're not a CEO sitting on a billion in the bank,
no on will answer your e-mails, phone calls or letters.
You'll be helpless, hopeless, too old, too young,
in too much pain, the wrong color, some unacceptable
sex, a non-believer in some religion people kill for.
You could be struggling to see through everyone's
skin to their slick, writhing guts, including your own.
Or, you could call it quits, and slip into the unknown,
inexhaustible, frothing teeth of the sea that turns us
all to brine, sweet salt of the universe.

Freya Manfred



and my own thoughts....


Don't look away this Christmas
let your own pierced heart awaken
to all the world's sorrow.
Carry your empty cup
washed with tears,
make the hadj to your neighbor's,
and walk peacefully
smiling from your pilgrim soul.

Merry Christmas