First Hand Experience

I used to
Seek God
Second hand

Through

Structured studies
And weekly lectures
And widely accepted
Interpretations

And then

I would try
To make
What I had learned
Fit the circumstances
Of my life

And to be honest

It was
A forced fit
That never
Quite worked

Today

I don’t try
So hard

Today
I live
Immersed in
The circumstances
Of my life
And the lives
Of those
I love

And here

God is revealed
 
Clear as day
 
Everywhere

In everyone
And everything
I encounter
 
I find God now
First hand

In the lives

Of fellow travelers

In souls
Dancing free

In the sound

Of spring evenings
 
In the faces
Of my sisters

In every breathe

In the deep
Sweet peace
That is mine
 
Second hand theories
Beautifully replaced
With first hand
Experience
 
A gift
I wish
For us all