Ahuv Sheli

"Do not let yourself be distracted by the great noises of war, the dramatic descriptions of misery, and the sensational expressions of human cruelty...   The newspapers, movies, and war novels may make you numb, but they do not create in you a true desire for peace..." - Nouwen, Henri, The Path of Peace , Finding My Way Home: Pathways to life and spirit , (Diliman, Quezon City:  Claretian Publications, 2004),80. I was at  St. Paul's Saturday afternoon when I received an invitation to reflect on 'peace.' The reflection grew with several posts I read ~ 'survival stories,' an uproar on justice, war, gruesome crimes, family misunderstandings, passing of a bill I don't support, etc.  It took me to a dream I had in November, it was a short flash but it was enough for me to remember ~ I saw the devil sitting on top of my roof  ~  "it prowls like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour"  (I Peter 5,8 NIV) . It&

December 26, 2009 at 3:02 am, lifted from my 'Memoirs of a Young Traveler' "It's the most wonderful time of the year..." goes one song.  It's the BEST time of the year for me... I remember on one occasion, I was asked by an Egyptian priest to play for the Arabic community in a mini concert sponsored by our bishop. I said okay, even if they told me about it a few minutes before the concert began. It was good that they had the musical sheets readied, I had time to rehearse with them (but I practically had to read the notes from right to left). Anyway, the best part came before we sang our Christmas carols. I was a bit jittery, still studying the notes.  There was this little African boy who looked at me intently. He had those cute innocent eyes. I was anticipating what he might need. I thought maybe he was getting hungry... or maybe he was lost and was looking for his mother. I was thinking a lot of things, when he suddenly took my han

Kindly visit my Christmas post at  We Have A Story my drawing of the Madonna and Child on chalk between 2009-2010, adapted image "The question is: Is the humanity of our time still waiting for a Savior? ... ...despite its contradictions, worries and tragedies, and perhaps precisely because of them, humanity today seeks a path of renewal, of salvation, it seeks a Savior and awaits, sometimes unconsciously, the coming of the Savior who renews the world and our life, the coming of Christ , the one true Redeemer of man and of the whole of man." ~ Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, December 20, 2006 source:  Excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI's Spiritual Thoughts Series: "Christmas"

"You are not meant for convent life... ..and if you're thinking about it... I beg you to reconsider..." I was taken by surprise when two of my male  friends wrote me this... perhaps, it was due to my prolonged absence from the social media.  I reflected on the occasions I felt myself torn apart by indecision... but it wasn't about this... Not at all... I miss the life I had ~ I call it my glorious years in the mission field. I was young and impulsive. I didn't have second thoughts. Back then, the moment was right ~ pieces fit together.  I dreamt big. I wanted to be included in history as 'somebody' who did this or was good at that... But there was also a part of me that wished to remain ' hidden '... and that part could only be touched and visited by God. Early on this week, I finally got to visit a friend who was stricken by cancer. I didn't recognize her when I saw her ~ her face was bloated and she w

I'm beginning to love October... It is the month of healing and recuperation for me. Song: My Love by Sia Furler  co written by Oliver Kraus Source:  http://idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/ECLIPSE-soundtrack-My-Love-Sia.mp3 I had three  stillpoints  in my life outside the walls... First, when Sam left...  second, when my sister decided to experiment further with her future  and lastly, when a very close friend died in a tragic way. Something inside me craved for silence... not the one we know of ~ mute... cut off from contacts...   but the kind that is filled with the presence of the 'Other'. This time around 'we' meditated on ' protect '... ---- A particular memory of the 'street kids' we used to assist came to my mind. image adapted from a news photo in Tempo We took them out of the streets and provided them shelter, food and clothing... It was good for a time until we noticed a

"This heart scares easily..." - Rancho, Three Idiots   I found myself 'discussing' Three Idiots at four in the morning with a dear friend. It is an excellent movie ~totally hilarious and yet at the same time riveting . "Are some parts there realistic?," I curiously inquired ... "Do their parents determine their children's future ~ as engineers or doctors?" "Is suicide rate really high among students?" And my friend answered with a curt, "Yes..." ---------- The movie reminded me of high school ... Way back into our  Carpe Diem  days...  Henry   Thoreau, Robert Frost and of course,  Mr. John Keating... We were so eager to suck the marrows of life and contribute a verse! It was at that moment when my heart was awakened by the beauty of poetry and literature. I devoured Thoreau's contemplation of life and made them my own... Read: Where I Lived, and What I Lived For I con

 I wish it could be like this... forever ! google image from Tangled A friend frantically wrote me, " No news for many days, are you okay? "   Oh if you could only see me!  I am FEELING for the first time in many years... music: Sleeping at Last by Turning Pages device: opendrive.com It was an assignment I picked up since it started way back 2001. Where have I been all these years? Outside of myself! And now, I'm fully coming in. I am inside my 'body' ~ my own skin marked with history... MY story ...  Soul's Light: Rising from the Ashes I thought I could just fly to God leaving this body behind. Then he hushed me, "We communicate with Him not only with our heart (cuore) BUT also with our head (la testa) and feet (i piedi)... with our whole body (con tutto il nostro corpo)... --- If that is so... then what have I been doing sitting infront of my pc all day? CAMMINIAMO...

google image: Twilight   I couldn't... ---- I've been spending sleepless nights since Sunday (10.07.12)... I just couldn't bear that  'that part of me' dies... ---- music: A Thousand Years by Christina Perri device: opendrive.com * No copyright infringement intended My eyes rested on my Vision Board...  ---- For several months, my heart hibernated and refused to be awakened... I lost a piece of me... but there's a continuous glow that grows inside...  finding it's way   back... ------ I Come Back To Myself Slowly Shalom Freedman source:  PoemHunter.Com I come back to myself slowly I have been away for a time To another part of myself I do not want to be at all --- It is the part of Despair and Fear and Loss of Hope And guilt over my own unworthiness --- I have come back to myself a bit I am sort of alright There is not around me all this weight and clo