Beyond The Wall

Message from Tom to Blog Readers

11-23-06

It’s early Thanksgiving morning as I write this, and I am reminded that nothing brings the world of spirit and earth together more quickly than being grateful. To be grateful means giving thanks for more than just the things we want, but also for the things that surmount our pride and stubbornness. Sometimes the things I’ve wanted and worked for, if I actually received them, would have crushed me.

Sometimes just giving thanks for the mystery of it all brings everything and everybody closer, the way suction pulls streams of water together. So let’s openly give thanks, even if we’re not sure what for, and feel the abundance of all that is living brush up against our heart.

The holiday season can be a difficult time here in prison. It has a way of intensifying the feelings of loneliness and abandonment that many feel.

I want to be especially sensitive to the needs of the others here and to the cries of their hearts. When we truly listen and give to each other, it lifts us out of ourselves and provides a sense of purpose and closeness. Soon we’re not sure if we’re doing it to bring joy to others or to ourselves. That very distinction starts to drop away as we taste our unity. Over time, giving to others becomes a habit of being. It’s not so much something we do with great fanfare; it’s just a part of who we are.

By giving and receiving gratitude, and by serving each other, we name each circumstance, each person, a blessing in our lives. We acknowledge the truth: ALL LIFE IS A GIFT.

Sending you all joyful thoughts and boundless love,

Tom

Most Richly Blessed

By Charles “Tom” Brown

Copyright 2006

Here are some thoughts on being blessed…in spite of myself!

I wonder what it would be like if we actually received the things we think we want.

Material things would soon wear out, break down, and become obsolete. That perfect relationship could soon become a disappointment as the human flaws become more evident. Happiness could come and go as we experience the ups and downs of life.

In my case, I asked for a simple life and received a barren prison cell where I could experience extreme simplicity.

I asked for a degree of fame so I might feel important and received a dose of shame so I might be humble.

I asked for the freedom to do as I pleased and received the restrictions of a prison cell where I could go within and find the true meaning of freedom.

I received almost nothing that I thought I wanted. Yet, what I did get is deep and simple. It won’t wear out, rust, go out of style, or fluctuate with the cycles of life.

It is eternal. It is inner peace. Almost in spite of myself, I am most richly blessed.

11-23-06

It’s Thanksgiving Day, and in a little while we’ll be having a special dinner. This is the one day of the year when we really do have an outstanding meal – turkey, dressing, corn on the cob, pumpkin pie…the works. No matter what our circumstances are, we can always count our blessings, can’t we?

I’m feeling full today – blessed – grateful – and doing a little dreaming. It’s fun to dream, and I believe in doing it up right – like seeing the day when I walk out of here and seeing the day when we meet each other. Wow! Just WOW!

I read something about dreaming that I’d like to share with you. It’s called “Saddle Your Dreams” by Howard Thurman.

“It is the nature of dreams to run riot, never to contain themselves within limitation. Sometimes they seem to be the cry of the heart for the boundless and unexplored. Often they are fashioned out of longings too vital to die, and of hankerings fed by the hidden springs of spirit.

“…Many are the names by which dreams are called…fantasies, repressed desires, bounties of the spirit. Sometimes we seek to dismiss them by calling their indulgence daydreaming by which we mean taking flight from the realities of our world and dwelling in the twilight of our imaginings.

“All of this may be true, but all of their meaning need not be exhausted in such harsh judgment. The dreams belong to us. They come full blown out of the real world in which we work and hope and carry on. They are not imposters.

“…Our dreams must be saddled by the hard sacks of our world before we ride them off among the stars. Thus, they become for us the barest of the new possibility, the enlarged horizon, the great hope. Ever as they romp among the stars, they come back to their place in our lives, bringing with them the radiance of the lofty regions and giving to all our days the lift and the magic of the stars.”

If we lose our dreams, somehow we lose the vitality that keeps life moving; we lose that courage to be; that quality that helps us go on in spite of it all.

May we keep on dreaming and being grateful for it all!