<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;">Thanks Ed….and to all who share their poetic gems. Lovely to hear and lovely to read . ♥️<br id="lineBreakAtBeginningOfMessage"><div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div>On Mar 4, 2026, at 9:25 PM, Ed Balldinger via Thespiritexpress <thespiritexpress@lists.mcn.org> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><font size="4">Greetings Dear People ~ </font><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I was asked to share this poetic moment that came to
me during meditation prior to Recognition Sutras class on Tuesday this week: </div><p style="margin:0in;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </p><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>My egoic self accepted a meditative role as the
blower away of all that wants to stay as awareness sits in
silence watching the blower blow. </i></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i> </i></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I also want to share the Rumi poem (translated by Coleman
Barks) that I read before class on Tuesday, called, <i>“Fish, Look.” </i></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Look,
Fish</span></u></div><p class="gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">I
saw the friend clearly, </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">and
I stopped reading books and memorizing poems.
</span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">I
quit going to church and fasting </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">to
be a better person. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">I
quit worrying about when I should be praying. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">I
saw how I was undisciplined and toxic. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">I
saw how lovely and strong. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">No
mercy for the drunk, a full sentence. </span></div><p class="gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Let
the beautiful one come out in fine clothes. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Wind
his hair into God’s rope. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Twist
the braids into a cross for Christians to see. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">His
light is better than the sun’s.</span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">How
could he have gotten so withered and weak? </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Now
he jokes and pounds the table. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">He
was wine under a lid, Joseph at the bottom of the well. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Know
yourself in the light of the true ones, </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">as
the ground sees its face in a garden, </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">as
rock knows its own secret when put next to a ruby, </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">iron
next to polished steel. Come into
existence. </span></div><p class="gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Flies
go round to every pile of dung, </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">and
finally out of that compost comes the Anya bird, </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">the
true man. When a person is born </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">of
this new moment, it does not wear off tomorrow. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Sit
with lovers and be useful. Do not wander
away. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Look,
fish, at the ocean behind you. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Go
back where you came from, sea creature. </span></div><p class="gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">You
hear the sound of water, </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">and
you know where you want to be. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Why
wait? You have gone places that you
regret going </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">for
money and other reasons. Do not do that
again. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Water
says, Live here. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Do
not carry me around in buckets and pans. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Those
are false duties. Rest and be
quiet. </span></div><p class="gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></p><p style="margin:0in;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">
</p><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> <i>~
Rumi</i></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><i><br></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><i><br></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0in;"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3">Peace and harmony to all, </font></div><div style="margin: 0in;"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><br></font></div><div style="margin: 0in;"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3">~ Ed Balldinger</font></div><p style="margin:0in;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </p></div></div>
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