St. Peter

It's 2 am, as we pull into the humble hotel. German 
countryside; everyone is shut up tight. Warmth and light 
welcome, as all file inside. I entered, belated, to see our
 troop elated, faces filled up with joy. Blessed commu- 
nication. The source stood behind the counter, a man, salt 
& pepper, his face beamed like a boy's.

We are all given dark and light, beautiful contrast, black 
and white. You can hide in the darkness or strive for 
healthy progress. Forgive what makes us human; we could 
grow an earthly heaven.

He told us of our origins, spoke of when ideas gave birth 
to breath.He spoke about love and respect. I felt fire rise
 up in my chest. Loving because He first loved us. Clean or
 dirty, the Ocean remains as One! I've never felt such a 
warm embrace, well-known stranger, his smile, a hand- 
shake. (And while he swept the floor.) Oh G-d, he called on
 me by name! Even as the smoke hung in our lungs, like old 
friends we circled up. Peter, preaching Life, past his 
Marlboro,

"On nights like tonight I come outside, enjoy the pins of 
light, littering the sky. Run my fingers down the lifeline 
of the hanging leaf, thinking of how that life also resides
 in me. The mark of the Creator, we share the same energy. 
Our light and our dark, the dull side and the shiny, 
creates the being, whole, and distracts not from beauty."

For glory is revealed in everything, shared energy. We must
 own and control the dark that we're given. Magnify the 
light, loving what is just and right, and cultivate for 
ourselves an earthly heaven.