Thursday, October 14, 2010

CommUNITY Poem

CommUNITY
By Shawna Ray, ©1/21/09 Ref: John 17:23
Poem inspired by 2009 Inauguration Day.
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Is there a place called Unity
Where we can live in community?
With love at the center, a true sense of peace
Even when at times we do not agree?

Is there a common ground where we stand?
Open to reach across many lands
Giving and helping with loving hands
Finding the strength to begin again

Are there friendships that break through walls?
Moving beyond what seems comfortable
Breathing the moments when we get to know
New friends that help us to learn and to grow

Is there a place called unity?
Inviting each soul to whole, complete
Walking in faith as we learn more daily
Seeking to understand other’s beliefs

There we accept and humbly embrace
Differences of culture, religion and race
In God I trust, forgive and give grace
Friendships take patience, commitment to wait

Sharing communion, sharing this life
Playing and laughing; spending the time
Showing a love flowing from the divine
Open to questions and wonderings why

Come Unity! Come through, come along
Come forth, Come back, Come one, come all
Come on, come about, come across, come down
Come to the point where hope abounds

Let us live freely; celebrating diversity
Reviving our nation; uniting families
Together with God’s heart, mind, spirit and body
Serving and loving, commUNITY

Celebrate ONE Day of Unity on 11-11-11

With a heart and passion for unified diversity, I received a vision in 2007 for a day of unity, “That ONE Day” as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of in his “I Have a Dream” speech. I have a dream that ONE day, 11-11-2011; we will come together in unity to celebrate our diversity and connect in commonality, building peaceful, mutual relationships beyond cultural boundaries.
Personally stalled while still searching for a job to bring in needed income to support my family as a single Mom with two children, and still writing songs and stories independently, I have no idea how any of this will come about. I just have to get it out there and would love to share more of these ideas and work toward this goal, recruiting a leadership board of empowered visionaries who can help to make this happen. I am sure I am not the only one who received this call! In John 17:21-23, Jesus prayed, “That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you…That they may be one as we are one; I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity…” This is NOT about religious agenda. Every ONE is welcome in my heart. “Seek first to understand, then to be understood,” as Stephen Covey taught in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Auditioning for Oprah’s OWN show in Atlanta with ideas for a program called OPEN that would help connect and foster understanding among people of different cultures and backgrounds, I felt confident that was the way to go, but did not receive a call-back. I still love ya Oprah!
So, I have been drawn to 11:11 since I was a kid and it usually comes with some sort of “aha” moment or when I wake up from a dream of significance, that I notice the time on the clock and say a prayer or make a sort of “wish” when I was younger. For a while I even experimented with holding my breath until the clock changed to 11:12. Ya, that’s just goofy. Anyway, I don’t know what all this is about, but I’m finally getting up the nerve to share the vision I woke up with on 11-11 three years ago. I recently searched 11:11 and found some very interesting articles on the web where people shared similar stories. Some of the 11-11 stuff creeps me out, but obviously there is something going on. I have found some very cool websites and there is a day of peace on 1-1 and some amazing earth work happened on 10-10-10 this year, so that’s cool. It could just be like when you buy a certain type of car; you tend to notice them more on the road. Our mind connects us when we become more conscious of things. Obviously we were made with these senses for a reason and maybe it is a way we might also be intended to connect and unite in this. Incidentally, when I was posting this blog initially, I looked up at it was, oh ya, 11:11. OK. I like to think that it is because we are ONE.
Moving forward, if there is anything you can do to help, I am seeking positive peace partners to join with me in this mission. I would greatly appreciate your consideration, support, and prayers. Email me, info@shawnaray.com to connect. For more information on my qualifications as a Public Relations professional, see http://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnaray. And as soon as funds are available, I will get this website up and running at www.thatoneday.com
Thank you. Keep it open,
Shawna Ray
www.shawnaray.com

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Season of Change, a song by Shawna Ray

Sentimental seasons, necessary change
Equivalent reasons for joy and pain
Questioning direction, I find I’m asking why
Feel the helter-skelter shifting over time

Silence in the winter, growing in the spring
Laughter in the summer and autumn brings the wind

Blowing by, colors fade and we fall, but get back up again
There’s a time for each season of change

Every shade of color has a different hue
Single source of light is giving each their view
I can’t see the end but circles come around
Evolving creation speaks without a sound

Silence in the winter, growing in the spring
Laughter in the summer, autumn brings the wind

Blowing by, colors fade, and we fall, but get back up again
There’s a time for each season of change

I see light from the clouds and a rainbow appears
I see bloom from the trees and the growth in our years
I see LIFE all around through our laughter and tears
And each season, each season of…
Silence in our winters, growing in our spring
Laughter in the summer then autumn brings the wind
Blowing by, colors fade, and we fall, but get back up again
There is time for each season of change
A time for each season of change