Beginning in the 19th century
This U.S. historical action was
Believed to be a divine right.
Territorial acquisitions
Imperialism and exceptionalism
Somehow preordained
Seizure of property to own and
Govern peoples and lands in the US.
Today, intruding into other countries
Forcing their gifts of oil and minerals
U.S. Colonialism, dissatisfaction with its borders
(though wanting to keep people out of the U.S.
Or send them away wherever).
Greed, wanting more and more
Grabbing additional glory and goods from
Throughout the world
According to a president’s and his supporters’
Need to possess and enslave
Claiming moral superiority
Like kings.
A damn shame.
Manifest Destiny can become a call
To create our own experiences of life
Not necessarily our futures but
Our present times and presences
Once we understand and believe that
Yes, we can.
We are sovereign and
No one can overpower us
Again. Not ever.
So, instead of rolling with the tides or
Going along with the governmental flow
How about a remarkable ride
A gentle journey that
We design and implement ourselves?
While just hearing these words
Our breathing slows and deepens
The outer material world seems
Less assaultive, less important
Vanishing by the moment.
We feel more cocooned
Within a thin membrane between us
And all the patterns and conditionings
We have practiced throughout our lives
Within this culture of violence, goodness
Human consumption and corruption.
As we release some of the past and
Observe current horrors and tragedies
We acknowledge the strengths and skills
We learned well in order to survive.
And then
We let some of them go
No longer needed
Awakening, and finally knowing
That we have been and are
Now protected
By a different kind of energy
A collaboration rather than a hierarchy
Protected beyond all measure.
We cannot even imagine how loved
We are
We are never alone.
Can we expand our open hearts and
Manifest different responses
To life and all of its chaos and confusion
When we have truly experienced and
Accepted that we are being held and nurtured
By the Unconditional Love that is
Available to us all?
That is our Manifest Destiny.
Not just human love, always conditional
(Except perhaps between parent and child
And even then, we have conditions)
No, this is Manifested Love Intelligence
Expanding around us, and through us and
Within us every day of our lives
Helping us make every decision we make
Holding us even when we are not aware.
If we listen
If we become still enough
Breathe deeply and gently enough
Surrender our minds enough
Open our hearts enough
Trust well enough to encounter
What we cannot describe in
Human language.
Those energies that are moving
Throughout boundless and
Unfathomable time and space
Those powerful energies which exist
Eternally, Infinite Presence and
Support at the ready
Even when we do not listen or hear.
We turn, shifting from needing to
Claim ownership of Mother Earth Gaia’s
Properties and territories, and her people
To create, to realize, to know and
Hold within ourselves
All that is
All that will be
And all that has ever been.
Realizing our needs and desires
Never to own but only to share
This divine Radiance with
Everyone, world without end
Amen.
