Gods' True Gifts

------------------------------

Protected beneath a canopy
of Redwoods clustered high
Needles fallen - cushion footsteps
My path to God is softened

Mist gathers - drops fall
tapping slowly - telling time
Gentle breeze - bending ferns
God is reaching towards me

Slivers of sunlight -
Grace sent from above
His light does shine inside
my once forested mind

Enveloped by calm serenity
Prayers He alone granted
Nourish a vision of healing
i experience your presence

/edj
17.12.2007
Redwood Grove - Botanical Gardens
at the University California - Berkeley

NOT MY HERO

------------------------

… SPINNING TUNES MIXIN MAD RHYMS

FOR THE UN-UNITED NATIONS IN MORAL DECLINE

…OUR TOOLS – SIMPLY WORDS BASED ON TRUTHS - YOU CAN NO LONGER IGNORE

YOUR SHIELD - JUST LIES TO OUR PEOPLE - THOSE WORDS WE ABHOR

…BUSH OIL INC'S BUSY TRASHING WORLD FORESTS AND SHORES

WHILE HOMELAND DEFENSE PUSHES CLOSER NEW WARS

EDUCATION IS FAILING YOUTH - DEMAND WORTHLESS TEST SCORES

BUT JAILS FOR CRIMINALS - HELL - LETS JUST BUILD US SUM MORE

U R NOT MY HERO

…CEO COFFERS SPILL TO THE FLOOR WITH NO SHAME

GOLDEN PARACHUTE TO FAILED EXECUTIVES – ITS JUST A SHELL GAME

SO CALLED LEADERS THINK THEY CAN JUST TAKE WHAT IS MINE

BUSINESS ETHICS DEFINED MEANS ONLY PAYING A FINE

U R NOT MY HERO

… OUR POWER IS REALIZED BY HOLDING NEAR WHAT IS DEAR

CAN’T CENSOR OUR BEAT - THE TRUTH - RHYMES THAT YOU HEAR

... VOICES PULSING LIKE ECHOS - WORLD WIDE WE’LL BE HEARD

LA, BOSTON, SF AND NEW YORK. SEATTLE, CHICAGO YALL ARE DOWN WITH OUR WORD

NOT MY HERO

… WORLDS AT A TIPPING POINT – STOP MORTGAGING OUR FUTURE DOWN

ITS TIME TO RISE UP - TAKE IT BACK - AND TAKE HOLD OF THE CROWN

LIVE TO A HIGHER STANDARD SISTAHS_n_BROTHERS

BUILD MASS AND MOMENTUM - TOGETHER WE’RE STRONGER

GODS' LIVING RULE SAYS WE BE A PRESENT PARENT

STOP CONSUMING ABSENT CONSCIOUS THOUGHT OR INTENT

… BARTER TRANSACTIONS BASED ON INTELLIGENCE

YOUR EVERYDAY CHOICES WIELD MAD INFLUENCE

.. SCRIPT YOUR STORY WITH EVERY STEP THAT YOU WALK

LETS MARCH ON DC AND STOP THE WAR WITH IRAQ...

TO GRANDBOB [Dad_n_Law] Happy 70th Birthday!!!
==============================================

A story of GranBob
in prose i do offer.
To commemorate his 70th
and a friendship from which we each prosper.

Stan was a kind man
who'd rather live quite simply
Stella was a graceful
a special beauty.

Early in life
his heart they were told,
was murmmered by Great Lake winters
seemingly too cold.
So lovingly his parents
heeding guidance wisely
moved to the desert
to raise a new family.

Bob's journey for knowledge
acquired through self-learning
continues today - dividends still returning.

A "baller" active in many sports
as each year he grew taller.
Victories to this day - Pump Him Up -
make him Hollah!!!

Now picture this young man
as new husband and father
Determined to secure
a future for 3 daughters.
Hit the books at night
9-5 solve payload compliance
Kids at home and a wife
YES THIS WAS ROCKET SCIENCE!

... and sacrifices made,
navigating complexities of life
Defined his values
to overcome strife.

Today - now at 70
Bob is NOT slowing down.
70 is the new 50
he proclaims Globe Trotting around.

CABRILLO DOCENT
- BOTANIST
-- HIKER EXTRORDINAIRRE
GEOLOGIST
- GARDENER
-- and OH Yeah - OMNILAIRRE!
BUT tonight a Disco King
Channeling Fred Astair

If you hear his life speaking
and you carefully listen
His adventures will stir you
may make your eyes glisten

So tonight we raise a toast
in your name there is honor:
- a life well lived
- friends abound
May your 70's go on for ever...

HAIRY BIRTHMARK - to moi
-------------------------------

Letting go is a gift for myself
if i choose
to end an addiction
of internalized abuse

at a young age i thought
shame was mine - alone
constantly replaying memories
to understand what I'd done

the chaos, the lies
love cast aside
myself i dispised
in-difference i saw
when i looked in my eyes

complicated my life
old behaviors worn blind
sought any relief
to get out of my mind

fought all, did drunk, been coked, smoked rope...
groped, felt, bent, prone, all chillingly bare
yet never emotionally exposed

till bottom hit – not once - twice - three;
got chained and fired, drop kicked-out.
got to pay the price
my only friend  - a JD - to whom i pay a fee
plus a mortgage and rent
yet for only me

Higher Power never left me
in His hands my life's re-newed

This pain's mine – it WON'T hold me down
that i am alive to FEEL IT is a miracle - devine!
my brain through spiritual growth - retrained
and self-worth i WILL re-claim

i choose to trust – My Lord completely
in His way – Give Praise And Glory!!!
Walk this Path - in His light
Join us on our Eternal Journey...

WHY I SURF:

I need to feel alive and when I hit the 49 degree salt water of Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, CA there is no question of that truth. From the initial, self-induced shock, immediately followed by a deep, pounding heartbeat; to the short rapid breathes and an ever widening grin with each stroke as I greet friends in the line up - each moment defines the experience.

It is also the rituals of a _dawn patrol_ session which are calming and comforting. Loading the truck, pulling on the rash guard, hauling myself over a fence that seems to get higher every time I climb it, the trek down the cliff, paddling out and carving a flowing bottom turn add a rythmn to my life that no other act can offer.

And as a husband, father, coach, dog-walker and employee and I have to slice out this time for myself or risk losing who I am. Its simple really... when I've taken care of myself I can better focus on how to serve others. Thats why my life is better when I surf.

/edj


S - serenity
U - utopia
R - return [i'm from Indo so the Pacific is my home]
F - flow

Air_Borne_Again
[slammed this one out at 30k ft. on HawaiinAirlines]


Altitude at Three Miles High
Island Bound - Bouncin a 767

Time Zones Drop Bye
Closer Now To My Heaven...


Above the Cloud Line Provides the View
That Restores my Personal Perspective
Urging on Self-Reflection
Priorities Renewed

Having Lived So Far - on this Journey - Life
Recognizing Now
The Hardest Route
Need Not be Traveled Twice

Call it my 3/quarter Life Crisis
or simply my Refrain
Condition of my System - Considerably Insane
Chemical Afflictions Scratching at my Brain

Adapting to a Learned Culture
Counting Steps that Count XII
Higher Power Provides New Meaning
And Deliverance from HELL

Damnation Through Self-Seeking
of Needs Which Can Never be met...
I Wipe Clear my Ego
with Eyes Freshly Wet

I Stand in my Path
Littered with Sorrow
And Reach Out to Embrace
... a Sober Tomorrow

Four on the Floor Now
Gentle Landing - Coming Still - End of Roll
The End of Generational Addition...
My Legacy for All