Kids, this morning I will share with you my recent conversation with my son, Jeff. Some of you have enjoyed his writings. He is a remarkable person, from whom I have learned so much, this lifetime. He has generously allowed me to share his thoughts and writings. This one, he wrote as lyrics for a song, for which he will compose the music. Jeff told me "Selma Karamay was Kahlil Gibran's first love. She was crushed underfoot." The final lines of this poem have enormous impact.
Selma Karamay
A woman filled with Life, Sorrow and Love
To play her part upon the stage of man
Descended out of Heaven like a dove
To do for her love everything she can
There was a Destiny she had to face
They mashed her underneath the iron boot
Shall mockery exalt above her grace
And make out of her soul a little loot?
The play of Love and Death were in her part
For those she loved she gave her final breath
Her painful labor stabbed her in the heart
Surrendering her soul unto its death
Solo
An angel greeted her by doors above
Asking, “Do you want to know if you were kind?”
She replied, “Only tell me I was loved,
And guard with mercy those I leave behind!”
_________________________Copyright Jeffrey Merk 2012
Here is a recent email of his, which shows his remarkable spirit. Jeff has lived a challenging life, during which he has grown so much. He is my hero and my teacher.
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I have a story to tell...
I went to the library today. One of the books I borrowed is called, 'Plum Red - Taoist Tales of Old China' by Stuart Wilde. It's a series of lessons in the form of short stories. The first story is called, 'The Thirty-three Sages of the Plum Red Robes - A Tale About Tenacity on Your Spiritual Path'. I read it on the bus home.
It's about a group of disciples who follow their master through extreme hardship. I was reading it as a student. In the end, only one disciple remains, and is accepted into the Monks Order. He politely asks the master, "Why me, sir?" The master explains, "Do you remember, one year ago, back in the village, when I said, 'Only one of you will complete the journey?' All the other disciples said to themselves, 'Will it be me?', but you said, 'I am the one!'
I realised that I was not the one. In the park, on the way home, I sat down on a bench and wept bitterly, inconsolably. But I learned a great many things from that story.
I decided that I would sit on the park bench in the cold wind (I was wearing only a jean jacket) and not move until I had completed the second story: my 'hardship'! I had a marvellous time! I felt the first stirring of spring, bowed to crows, saw some boys playing soccer, and saw some beautiful people walking. It's remarkable what you can notice if you slow down!
If there is a lesson to this story, it would be that the greatest treasure a man can possess is his Inner Life!
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Thank you, Jeff, for an uplifting morning! I am so proud of you!
