Reaching Out for Ethics

I am in an interesting situation, I was given a position as caretaker at a homeless hostel. I find the noise is really full on here and I notice that I am not good at policing the people here. It is not really my style to play the role of parent, I’d rather create a family. Anyway, I have chosen to leave. I have no money and no-where to go. It is really interesting when you place yourself in what appears a risky situation. You want to reach out for help, but there is no-where to go. So I have to trust something comes up. I have no choice. One thing that is clear to me is that kindness matters. When we feel ethics and a sense of value for other humans, the distrust disappears and we see the real need. My life is changing rapidly, the supports are falling away. It is not easy, but I have been here many times, where I simply don’t know. I wrote this poem now.

REACHING OUT FOR ETHICS

When you reach out,
I reach back,
For I see your need,
And how can I live in greed,
That only serves my own interests.

Truth is not just a word,
It is coming clean,
It is being transparent,
It is saying it like it is,
For this is the greatest respect,
For yourself.

The world is crying out in poverty,
As others are crying out alone,
For the poverty of east meets west,
In an uncomfortable reunion,
Where many walk past,
Into an empty future.

For the spirit of things,
Is that no-one is to go without,
No needs left unaddressed as if a scrap heap,
No stone unturned as if uninterested,
For each soul matters,
It is a matter of soul that you look,
For when you look you choose,
To live in love or fear.

The enlightenment was a time of free thinking,
Breaking the mold of limited ideas of power and control,
Of righteousness unquestioned,
A fundamentalist doctrine,
Where god only resides in opulent cathedrals,
Where the people feel small,
As they buy their stairway to heaven,
Yet in the smallest offering of kindness,
You find the greatest cathedral of the heart,
For this is the grace that is unseen,
That is meek and mild,
For in the kindest smile lives human worth,
As you look into the mirror of your life,
And reflect on your words and actions,
Do you reach out to the sublime.

For when it is all taken from you,
It is only then that you see the value of kindness,
For you cannot buy your way to freedom,
Ethics cannot be learned or earned,
It can only be lived by example,
As truth in action.

For if not you,
Then who,
If not now,
Then when,
The world is waiting for your answer.