Far beneath the sea

the oyster meditates

on a piece of sand

inside its shell

With care and over

time the sand

becomes a pearl

of great beauty.

Everything in God’s creation

is a lesson.

Where is our 

grain of sand,then?

We need something

with which to work.

How about mistakes?

If we take enough

we might have a 

grain.

What can be built

around this

imperfection?

Understanding and

patience,and duty

have the glow 

of a pearl.

They speak of Jihad;

  these people.

 Kill the enemy,

  they say.

  You can kill insects 

  by the thousands

  Yet they keep

  coming back.

  It only takes one

   to start it  all over.

  Our enemy lies in caves

  we say.

  in the dark.

  But even if we destroy 

  the caves

  There is still darkness

 in the world.

 The darkness is 

  our ignorance.

  This is the true

 enemy.

  It lies within

  each of us.

 It cannot be killed

  by battle

 only by wisdom.

  It’s so easy to begin

  a task

even to stay with it

 a while  

But many of us

  never finish it.

Only a few

 stay the course.

It seems there’s 

  something inside

that gives us permission

 to stop.

The other voice inside

  tells us to continue.

 The procrastinator

 isn’t evil;

 It’s just his job.

We have the choice,

 And once we understand

  that power,

 The work becomes

   easy

 The road slopes down hill. 

 You can’t eat it; you can’t wear it ; it’s not pretty and it’s quite rough to the touch.but if you really want to clear up a worn or deeply soiled object ,there’s nothing to match it- all it takes is your willingness to do the job,apply the necessary effort and Voila what was once rusted and useless becomes shining and something we can use even with pride knowing what we have done.We are like this.We are like the object- resplendent with many virtues and potential but they remains dormant.The sand paper comes in the form of difficulties and our responses to what confronts us in our lives: an angry neighbor,a dishonest merchant, sloppy service, the ignorance of a friend or family member, the cruelty seen in the treatment of someone we love, injustice in its many forms. When we react to all these with wisdom and compassion and understanding- we polish our inner soul and the full beauty and potential  shines  forth and we understand and accept and are grateful for what has happened.