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Thursday, July 16, 2015

My Philosophy of Life (for Brian Miller)

When I was 7
my first poem
was published
by the Fullerton News-Tribune.

I was inspired
by a late-night
tv sermonette
themed
“people are to love
and things are to use.”

It was the first time
I remember pondering
purpose, meaning.

(My grandmother
had the clipping,
ragged and worn,
in her wallet
when she died
25 years later.)

Then came
the long silence
between that poem
and trying to listen
for the voice of God.

Hearing nothing,
I embraced
and espoused atheism,
becoming a
material empiricist.

I embarked on
a life of modest
hedonism,
a suburban epicure.

It made life so rich,
so vibrant,
but ultimately,
it felt empty.

I needed a place
for all my gratitude,
for the roses,
the orgasms,
and the pizzas.

In all those
experiences
I was connecting
to something grander,
something not material,
something divine.

Eventually,
God and I
found each other,
and surprisingly
my philosophy
hasn’t changed much:

Why are we here?
To love
and take care
of one another,

just as God loves
and takes care of me,
and just as I try
to love and take care
of God.

[Written for the great dversepoets.com and my friend, Brian Miller.  Congratulations on getting your Master’s Degree!]

21 comments:

  1. oh wow - love that your gramma carried it in her wallet for so many years... must have meant much to her... def. people are to love... so much healing in this as well... glad you and god found each other - i'm madly in love with him - ha

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  2. To love and be loved. If we love the shepherd we will feed his sheep. I think he asked Peter this three times to redeem each of his denials. Our roads to faith are not th st much different.

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  3. I love the personal share..to finally find and realize that Love and God are important to our lives. Those silence can be traumatic years. And the ending lines moved me ~

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  4. Beautiful, Buddhah...how many take the long road before returning home only to find they learned everything they every needed was with them already or close at hand.

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  5. Anonymous4:14 PM

    This is awesome!!!

    I love the center section:

    "I embarked on
    a life of modest
    hedonism,
    a suburban epicure. ...

    I needed a place
    for all my gratitude,
    for the roses,
    the orgasms,
    and the pizzas."

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  6. So good to hear that you always knew the joys of hedonism led to empty corridors, & sad echo in dark chambers. There are a myriad of paths to enlightenment, & God has many names; but your beloved grandmother had the right idea; cherish & love each other with the ferocity of rogue angels.

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  7. Finding that poem in your grandmother's wallet must have been a real mind/heart/soul blower. Such precious love! Yes indeed. Love others as we love ourselves, the ultimate realization of truth. And the things you listed under gratitude - how they made me smile.

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  8. I love this and the way our philosophies can come full circle and still stay the same.

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  9. Full circle--but with added experience. I love it when the mystical component is as almost touchable as the print on a worn out news clipping. Love is always the answer.

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  10. Eventually,
    "God and I
    found each other,
    and surprisingly
    my philosophy
    hasn’t changed much:". Finding God and allowing him to find you is the best thing that can happened to everyone.

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  11. "To love" is the ultimate meaning of life and of course not to make a show of it...your grandma's story touches deeply...

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  12. Loved this! Such a noble philosophy :D
    Beautifully penned!

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  13. Connection.. ultimate truth
    of a life
    well
    spent..:)

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  14. "I needed a place for all my gratitude." How I wish I had written this line! This whole poem, in fact., which is simply wonderful.

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  15. Thanks for sharing your philosophical journey of life. To love and be loved - that is a grand philosophy to end with. Peace, Linda

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  16. Philosophy does turn us round and round, doesn't it. Ultimately, it does come down to love. What we give. And if we are lucky, what we receive. Thank you.

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  17. So wonderfully expressed, B. Love and care.
    I enjoyed this stanza:

    I needed a place
    for all my gratitude,
    for the roses,
    the orgasms,
    and the pizzas.

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  18. Anonymous6:34 AM

    ack... I just lost my comment... anyway, the short and sweet is 'I like this a lot" esp., the part Sara mentioned and the ending!

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  19. Anonymous10:47 AM

    I so agree with your philosophy. There are so many distractions that steer us away from the simplicity of life.Glad you found your way back.

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  20. This is cool, Mosk. I liked reading about your journey and especially how God and you found one another. One couldn't ask for anything more.

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  21. A very good philosophy, simply and beautifully expressed.

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