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How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise,
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints -I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! -and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Whispers

Dinesh Vora

The man whispered, "God, speak to me"
and a meadowlark sang.

But, the man did not hear.

So the man yelled, "God, speak to me"
and the thunder rolled across the sky.

But, the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said,
"God let me see you."
And a star shined brightly.

But the man did not see.

And, the man shouted,
"God show me a miracle."
And, a life was born.

But, the man did not notice.

So, the man cried out in despair,
"Touch me God, and let me know you are here."
Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man.

But, the man brushed the butterfly away ...
and walked on.

Remember Me
to the living
i'm gone
to the sorrowful
i will never return
to the angry
i was cheated
but to the happy
i am at peace
and to the faithful
i have never left

.....remember me as a memory
forget me as a breath....

The year is ended, and it only adds to my age;
Spring has come, but I must take leave of my home.
Alas, that the trees in this eastern garden,
Without me, will still bear flowers.

Su Ting (670-727)

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;

For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, I am in the heart of God."

And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

You almost had your hooks in me....
You nearly had me roped and tied
Altar-bound, hypnotized
Sweet freedom whispered in my ear
You're a butterfly
And butterflies are free to fly
Fly away, high away, bye bye...

Elton John, Bernie Taupin

http://ladymaggic.livejournal.com/

Contrasts and Parallels: A Virtual Reality ©Marguerite Carstairs 2006

Life is full of Contrasts and Parallels.
The opulently wealthy exist side by side with the ultimately poverty burdened. In some neighbourhoods, the rich and the poor live harmoniously together, as do the beautiful and the ugly.

Somehow the contrasting existences exist simultaneously in a parallel and virtual reality, in which every so often, an imbalance causes attention to be drawn to one area, and we see the contrast more clearly. However, the reality does not change the Status Quo. After the publicity and exposure, life continues as before, and we have a contrasting reality in a parallel existence. Nothing has really changed.

Personal Contrasts are the most illuminating. Take the Mother realising her youth and beauty is being upstaged, as her daughter competes and overrides her supremacy. Suddenly the once young and beautiful mother is contrasted by the now young and beautiful daughter, and you hear, "She is beautiful and just like you dear....." while you both preen with delight.
Then there is that period of rude awakening as you realise she has taken your place, and sometimes one feels like the Queen in Snow White. After some initial antagonism, finally acceptance and enlightenment, and the situation continues, a parallel contrasting reality that both have accepted as status quo.
The daughter has a daughter of her own, and is now facing the same reality. I clearly remember the time my mother felt threatened by my growing womanhood, and also remember as clearly, the time my own daughter caused me the same enlightenment and growth.

Environmental Contrasts are especially profound. The single rose blooming in the rubbish dump, the carefully maintained miniscule garden in the unkempt railway track, the modern high-rise adjacent to the humble cottage or the derelict ruin, both in living use.

Life is full of Contrasts that run parallel. This book is about Contrasts that exist in harmony or discord, simultaneously next to or adjacent to each other, in Parallel Lives.

Whole countries live parallel lives, yet within each country, the same contrasts occur. It is the same in nature. The dead bloom clings to the same branch right next to the living beauty. The caterpillar destroys the life of the leaf, so he can live and transform into a beautiful butterfly, to enjoy the nectar of the bloom before he fades.

....... Maggi Carstairs