sun struck

Enlightenment is an experience, not an idea. You feel struck by a burst of light. Suddenly the world is seen and felt as spiritual and eternal, rather than a day to day existence of drudgery and confusion. You feel totally alive, with a childlike joy, but without the child's fear of darkness. You feel wise, and you see everything with total clarity, You are lucid, filled with light. You see every person, every animal, plants, rocks, even the air, as alive and holy, united through the light that fills all existence. You are optimistic, energetic, and filled with wonder.

adapted from Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack

black sheep

this sheep is a healthy one
lively, fit, and lean and strong
should be a credit to the flock
should be first class breeding stock
yet this sheep is under attack
just because its wool is black
mother says 'it would be right'
'if you had a coat of white'
shepherd says that you must go
off to where the the grass don't grow
you don't look like all the rest
because of this you are a pest
black sheep no one wants you here
you just fill us all with fear
in this world you must conform
must be no different from the norm
black sheep black sheep, go away
no one likes you anyway

April 2004, Mount Abu, Rajasthan