We learn in the light of TRUTH
Once our minds have studied aplenty
We take the tests in the dark
An enlightened mind passes the tests with flying colors
A mind engulfed in darkness doesn’t even recognize the tests
EVASANTIAGO©2023
“Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher.”-William Wordsworth
You never enjoy the world until:
You see it through Truth’s lens
You view a sunrise or sunset
You see someone take their first or last breath
You help some one else feel God’s love
You never enjoy the world until:
Some one trusts you with their deepest secrets
You give out of what you don’t have
You give out of what you didn’t receive
You offer grace to some one who tried to break you
You never enjoy the world until:
You feel your own heart beating about your passions
You can appreciate everything about yourself
You’re at peace with your mistakes
You don’t care if they never understand you
You walk in your own power
You never enjoy the world until:
You place SOURCE/God first
Accept His unconditional love
See yourself as He sees you
Love yourself as He loves you
Forgive yourself as He forgives you
Do what He asks of you
EVASANTIAGO©2023
Frailty is a funny thing. It talked her into a compromising situation. When she was strong she would proclaim “ I will never do that! “ . In her might she could scale a wall bare footed and topple several giants with her hand tied behind her back. She seemed invincible.
Now things are different. Battles have scarred her and she feels herself wavering. What was once firm ground now has turned into sinking sand. She said she would never stumble in matters of her heart and she did just that because weakness is peculiar. Her flaws continually beg for her attention. She looks in the mirror and where once stood a Jedi, now all she gazes at are the accusatory fingers that point to her and blame her for things that aren’t even her doing. That was her undoing back then and she wonders if it’ll contribute to her demise now.
She heard those voices back then and that’s how she lost her way. They drowned out her own voice and she followed the wrong ones, betraying herself. Now the image in the mirror begs her not to do it again. She is fragile and is succumbing more and more each day to what is comfortable because she has grown tired of the battles.
The conflict is in her soul and she knows there is a way out but she finds herself enjoying the darkness more than she thought possible. Being in the light this whole time has exhausted her. She finds opacity comforting, it’s where she can hide away, not having to worry so much about anything. The darkness beckons her daily; it is where light hasn’t reached yet. Those places longing for light’s exposure is where she treads lately. What she doesn’t realize is that as she visits those places, they are no longer in the dark because by illumination, they become won over territory.
Her darkness sees the light and it comprehends it not. It surrenders to the brilliance and that’s how she overcomes her weakness.
“It’s not by might nor power but by my Spirit,” says the Lord.
” Sin is basically the places of the heart where The Light hasn’t reached yet.” -Kim Clement
-EVA SANTIAGO ©2012/ ©2023
′′ They asked the founder of Dubai * Sheikh Rashid * about the future of his country, and he replied: ‘ My grandfather was riding a camel, my father was riding a camel, I was riding a Mercedes, my son was riding a Land Rover and mine grandson is going to ride Land Rover, but my great grandson will have to ride a camel again… ′′
Why is that?
′′ Tough times create strong men, strong men create easy times. Easy times create weak men, weak men create hard times. ′′
Many will not understand, but you have to create warriors, not parasites… ′′
Same thing you give everything free to your son who stays asleep all day.
You’re creating a loser inside the house
We hope our kids are growing
Then get sad when they do
Us parents, we’re weird like that
We hope they grow more independent
And when they take off on their own
We cry
We hope they need us less and less
Once they do, we wring our hands and pace the floor with worry
We hope our kids leave the nest
And once they do,
We’re devastated
We hope they find true love
And once they do,
We hope they won’t have too many heart breaks
We hope our kids grow up to be amazing people
And once they do
We hope they don’t forget us
Ahhh yes, parental complexity knows no bounds!
EVA SANTIAGO copyright 2015
I look at my hands
These hands that touched you first as you entered this life
They’re not extraordinary hands
They’ve not designed rocket ships
They’ve not drafted blue prints for a magnificent work of architecture
They’ve not operated on a human heart or brain
They’ve not touched millions of dollars
They’ve not been adorned with the most expensive of gold, silver and precious stones
They’ve not graced the latest fashion magazine covers
But I’ll tell you what they have done:
They have held babies from sun up ’til sun down
Wiped noses , bottoms and toes
Cooked, I can’t remember how many meals
Sewed, I lost track of the stitches and dresses
Disciplined several naughty toddlers
Wiped away, I forgot how many tears
Written so many words
On countless blank pages
Painted using fingers, brushes and knives
On many a canvas
Cleaned up the clutter
Washed all the clothes
And through it all, these hands that first touched you as you made your grand entrance
Into this great ,big world
Will always touch, caress and comfort you
I’ll hold your hand in mine
Together we’ll both learn of the mysteries of this universe.
EVA SANTIAGO copyright 2014
Evict what’s not working for you anymore
Be the land lord of your heart
Serve notice to the past with all of its hurts and scars
Serve notice to people who drown your creative expression
Serve notice to your night mares
Clean out your temple and drive out the thieves and money changers
But don’t stop there and leave your home empty once the squatters vacate the premises
Now put up a for rent sign on your heart’s door
Rent rooms out to:
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Faithfulness
Goodness
Humility and
Self Control
They’ll be the best tenants
Because they’ll not destroy your home again
They’ll show you the real you
They’ll be with you through good and bad
One day you’ll wake up to find
They’re no longer renters
Because you’ve made them home owners
EVA SANTIAGO copyright 2014
Dear Reader, I wrote this post back in 2009 when I had another blog. I wanted to share it since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day…Remember how special you truly are!!
Life is messy. Nature reflects the messiness of life. We spend our whole time here making sense of the chaos; ordering our lives so as to try to put a handle on the mess. Life never works out as a neat and tidy Algebraic equation. In math, it all adds up. Follow a prescribed method and WAPA! Problem solved , move on!
Well, life hardly mirrors mathematics. It does have prescribed patterns and formulas. For instance, there are physical laws such as gravity as well as spiritual laws of reaping and sowing. These and a multitude of others are set in place so we may have order in the midst of chaos.
We are taught as children to follow and obey all that is set before us then, PRESTO! We will be successful and have a great life. The more we live though, we all come to the same conclusion; life is messy. The Golden Rule says to treat others as you would like to be treated. The problem is it works sometimes and at other times people can be down right cruel. Then there is the pursue love at all costs and yet again, when we do, we are left feeling stranded at times…life is messy. So, you love someone and you keep loving that person no matter what and they never love you back; another unsolved equation.
Love is never a science; knowledge of facts or principles gained by systematic study. The laws of science dictate cause and effect. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction, that’s how science works. Love is messy because there are no guarantees; if I love, that does not guarantee that my actively loving someone will cause that person to love me back equally and with the same measure of love. The human heart is an ocean with its shallow areas where we can swim and feel all is well within; don’t worry there are no “be ware of sharks” signs posted. Swim safely. Then there are those areas where the light has never reached; similar to those parts of the ocean where no man ,no camera has ever seen. There IS life in those depths awaiting our discovery. We fear the unfamiliar, so we stay in the shallow parts for our safety. Deep calls to deep and when we hear that call to venture out more, where it’s messy and chaotic, where things simply don’t add up, then we back paddle back to our safe zone. It takes trust to venture out to the unknown recesses in our hearts; to let love into areas that remain in the dark. Love is light; a closed up heart is a heart in darkness. Fear keeps us locked up thereby giving us a false security. The wise man said that out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks; we unlock or lock people up with our words; life giving words unlock others and poisonous words that curse keep others locked up as in a cell…solitary confinement. Love requires relationships. Some say, ” I love you but I have a hard time showing you. ” Well, love is easy to spot…it’s messy and all over the place. Picture a little child who was trying to make you breakfast and went on to make a great mess in attempting so. A little dab won’t do you; you have to reach out and take all you can. The more you take then you have more than enough to give to others. So if you take only a little, you’ll only have enough for you and that’s why you say, ” I love you but I can’t show you because I haven’t enough for the two of us.
Love should be celebrated everyday because everyday is a brand new opportunity for love to come into those dark areas in our hearts. People tolerate love because its nature is unpredictable, nerve wracking and annoying, especially when it show up unexpectedly. If we relegate it to a few holidays such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and all the minor holidays that fall in between, then love is confined and it loses intensity. Love, REAL LOVE baffles the mind and astounds the senses and it should. God is Love; Love is God. God so loves us, with a messy kind of all over the place love;the kind that was powerful enough to gift us His only Son. He puts His heart on the line for us and the best we can do is love one another and in doing so we are loving Him.
Eva Santiago copyright 2009,2014
Everyone waits
Some wait to die
Others wait out their fate
Still others wait until it’s too late
Children hate to wait
Some are born on time
Some are born past their due date
They don’t know we were born to wait
Then there are those who rush in
They hate to wait
So they rush in
And they get there at the wrong date
Everyone waits
She waits for the bus
He waits for his bride
She waits at the altar
As he dies in the war
She waits for the phone call
That will make her heart fall
The baby waits in utero
9 months in seclusion
Life began from day one
A child hopes to see the sun.
A man waits to die
He quit on life
When life got hard
He forsook the truth
And swallowed the lie
He waits to die
He stews in self hate
He thinks it’s too late
Life passes him by
And all he wants to do is die
Then there’s a woman who waits
For her lost love
She waits like she waited
When she was a school girl
For that phone call from him
That would rock her world
But it never came
Because he was too scared
To go after her
Who would rock his world
And the woman grew tired of the wait
And one day he showed up at her door
And then he came a day too late
Everyone waits…
-Eva Santiago copyright 2013
NOT SCARY AT ALL
This world is not as scary as they told us
The time clock ticks
Time marches on
And things go on unabated,
litigated
Emancipated.
There is nothing new under the sun
Days gone by
People are still people
And they keep to their own
The world is not as scary as they said
Tabu things
Belong to the past
Kids grow up fast
Nothing ever lasts
They painted for us a dangerous world
And I defy that
Boy still meets girl
And he tips his hat
Boy meets girl
A perfect match they make
Mom and dad frown
They have to let go
Cuz all their kids are almost grown
Don’t tell the young guns this world is scary
They don’t care
They won’t listen to your outdated fears
Let them eat, drink and be merry
Don’t even think they are clueless
Sometimes let ‘em surprise you
At times you’re the one who needs a clue.
-Eva Santiago copyright 2012
Eva Santiago 