Worthy of Honor

Let's begin with worthiness.

What isn't worthy?
A human, a thought,
a dangerous act?
My mind divides, justifies
unworthiness with harsh
righteousness.

A murderer... an abuser...
a horrible deed and 
all the crazy thoughts that
lead to acts of violence, 
betrayal, and the 
shadows of humanity.

I want, desperately, to
define, cut, divide with
a noble Michaelic sword.

I feel it in my hands,
but my heart is overcome
by its power.

Righteousness, I insist!
But no - 
my heart emboldens
with courage.
A courage of
unconditional love...
and forgiveness.

Really? 
I almost despise 
that word: forgiveness.

Who am I to fore-give?
Give acceptance before any - 
and all? - acts are done?

I'm not really that strong.

But the courage infiltrates 
my being, and there is a
comprehension beyond
my critical mind.

No, I may not be able to 
follow through with actions
of absolute forgiveness - 
not for my injustices.
But I can experience, 
somewhere in the illuminated
aura of my soul,
the truth of absolute worthiness.

For every. Single. Being.

Undeniably.

So that brings us to honor.

If we are each wholly, undeniably
worthy, then it becomes
evident that we are each
worthy of honor.

Me. You. The planet. My dog.
Your asshole of a neighbor.
The pieces of trash that
may or may not find their
way to the landfills.

No, I do not want to honor 
assholes or landfills.
I cry to see trash that
randomly litters a 
corner of the planet that
I care about.
The woods, the rivers...
my woods, my rivers.

I try not to shrink in overwhelm.

I soften to rediscover the
courage of the sword.
Perhaps it's a sword of discernment.
Perhaps it will help me make
small, yet significant, courageous
decisions on how to best act.

With this sword of light and discernment
I can choose just how I demonstrate
that all of life is
worthy of honor,
including my righteousness,
confusion and desire for
​a harmonious existence.

 

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