We are the courageous ones, the questioners, the dreamers
the explorers, the challengers, the dropouts, the seekers.

To us status quo is Latin for slow death.
We will not settle for win-lose zero-sum games and power politics.
We will create safe places where hearts and dreams are welcome.

We will leave the noisy debates and well-worn paths
and follow our souls and imaginations to new possibilities.
We will make our own way into a place of mystery and unlimited potential.

We choose to live and lead with total engagement
respecting diversity, with gratitude and creativity
embracing the freshness and vitality of the current moment.

Our WOW doesn’t have to be loud or showy because
we realize how much difference one small candle can make.
Sometimes our difference is subtle, quiet, and unnoticed by the masses.

We will love our struggles and our triumphs.
We will love our successes and our defeats.
We will love the people and opportunities in our lives.

We will live in the moment with openness and anticipation
leaning into the emerging future with hope and optimism.
We will stay nimble. We will stay curious. We will keep it fresh

We are committed to a life-long quest.
For us there is no finish line since
we will live on in spirit, hope, and courage
ever expanding ripples on the surface of reality.

We are the Difference Makers.

- D. H. Lester, 2015

It started in the kitchen

Although the storm clouds
Had been gathering
The flashes of anger
Caught both by surprise

She asked if he was going out again
He challenged tone and content

Then the dance began
Both knew their parts well
Old wounds were opened
New incisions made

In an attempt to add new drama
He grabbed the cleaver
Placing his genitals on the cutting block
In the centre of the kitchen

She laughed.

The slow night train
moves smoothly down
the long lean rails.
It rounds the bend,
and with a muffled moan
enters the sleeping village –
past the station,
past the stable and the blacksmith’s shop,
wheels grinding, sparks flying,
and suddenly disappears again
into the darkness of the night
with the clickety, clickety, click
of the cracks in the tracks
fading away,
fading slowly away.

Well-chosen masks cover up how you feel,
Your words and handshakes are never quite real.

Life’s a big drama — exciting and fast
Each person you meet is part of your cast.

You play your role well, with costumes and poise,
You got the right moves — You got the right toys

Even on down days you’re super slick,
— a little more swagger and a smile does the trick.

You hug and you chat, with just the right tone,
You text and you tweet — you’re seldom alone,

You play the mystique so incredibly well,
All of your lovers are under your spell.

Yet something is shifting,
              something’s not right,
You feel it inside,
              you sense it at night.

A hunger is growing,
              an insatiable desire,
To move beyond glowing,
                    to living on fire.

I’m not dead,
It’s just that my body has become redundant
Although I finally wore it out
It allowed me to laugh and hug,
To run and dance and explore.
To work and share and love.
It has served me well.

Send my body to the flames
To release the elements of life.

There is no need of clergy or funeral traditions,
What I need now can best be done by friends.
No need for talk of golden streets or resurrection life,
Or angel pins or sand crosses from an undertaker’s flask.
Seek comfort in the people still together
Not in hopes of a dreamland far away.

Please celebrate my life and our time together
With songs and stories, with laughter and with tears.
Eat a hearty meal with beverage, food, and music.
Sing and dance and celebrate my joy of living.

Although I have a stone to mark my time on earth
This is only a marker, not a place of repose.
I will not rest in peace, but mingle with the starlight,
And dance on the morning breeze.

I came from light and love,
And I have returned,
Stronger, brighter, thanks to all you
Who have shared my journey here on earth.

A well-chosen mask covers up how you feel,
Your words and handshakes are never quite real
Your life’s a drama, exciting and fast
Everyone you meet becomes part of your cast.

You play your role well with costumes and poise,
You’ve got the right moves; you’ve got the right toys
Even on down days you’ve learned to be slick,
A little more swagger and a smile does the trick.

You hug and you chat with just the right tone,
You text and you tweet and are seldom alone,
You play the mystique so incredibly well,
That even your lovers are under your spell.

Yet something is shifting, something’s not right,
You feel it inside, you sense it at night,
A hunger is growing, an insatiable desire,
To move beyond glowing to living on fire.

You rush on, you prurient godly men
Striving, struggling, and all for what? -
Riches and fame and their mundane pleasures,
Hoping always that money will bring happiness.
Is that all that this mad life has become? -
A merry-go-round ride to oblivion?
Please stop the world I’d like to get off,
And God and I will watch with saddened eyes
As we wonder why He gave man free choice.
I’m tired of watching people as they seem
Searching blindly for some happiness
And they could find it too. It’s such a shame,
Those blinkers of money hide it from them.
What can I say to them? What can I do?
They’d never hear; they’re too busy figuring,
“If I take a course or two this summer
And a couple more next winter if I can
That would raise me up one category.
Why I’d make nearly three hundred more a year!
Man, oh man, with that kind of salary
A guy could just about be satisfied.”
Just about is right. They’ll never give up
Killing themselves for “just another buck.”
They have no time for God. “And anyway
How could He give us this happiness?”
I’d tell them, “by assuring more than this
Vain struggle which ends only at the grave.”
But already, again they interrupt.
“Love can’t bring you joy either, by itself.
You’ve gotta have money first; that the thing.
Once you’ve got it you don’t need to worry.”
I’d ask them why happiness can’t just be
Doing what you want to do, the best you can
And having enough money to get by,
With a wife and couple of kids to love.
And church on Sunday and God throughout the week,
Knowing always that you’re going “somewhere.”
But they’re not listening to me again.
They look instead for penny that fell.
So, I’ll go and let them live their lives, their way.

- D. H. Lester - age 19 (1965)

Open your eyes little one
There’s so much more for you to see
Open your life little one
There’s so much more for you to be
The Universe is calling you
To play a larger part
To live and lead intentionally
With body, mind and heart
The path you’ve travelled
Up to now has given you a key
Interpret well the treasure map
And find your destiny.

The clock says it’s time.
Time to get up
Time to wash, and dress, and eat, and work, and live
Time to care for self, and others
Time to smile, to say hello
Time to touch, and be touched
Time to hang on
Time to hope
Time to endure.

Beyond grief there is a gratitude and awe,
Of the deep mystery of this mortality we share.
Holding close and letting go, laughter and tears,
Opens us to all that life and love can be.

I’m sorry to leave this earthly home
The sights, the sounds, the aromas of life,
Thanks to all who have walked with me,
Never enough time or ways to say farewell

My spirit has not died,
As my body has ceased to carry the life within.
These lips and hands and legs are silent,
But the loving essence of my heart lives on

The journey has been profound,
And life’s lessons have been rich.
Now you, a few ashes, and a stone
Bear witness that I lived and loved.

I came from stardust and the Energy of Life,
Now I am free to be a part of all that is.
I am beyond the ocean shores and distant stars,
And as close to you as your next breath.

Don’t settle
For edicts from popes
And political schemes
Tired half-hopes—worn-out dreams

Don’t settle
For the latest hit song
And bright shiny things
Just going along—birds without wings

Don’t settle
There’s greatness within
You’re destined to lead
It’s time to begin—plan to succeed.

Once you danced with daffodils
And wandered with the breeze,
You were so free and happy then
And laughed or cried with ease.

Before a mirror now you stand
Clothed just as you were born
And for the first time there you see
A shapely woman’s form.

You blush at your own nakedness
As Eve did long ago.
A child walked to the looking glass;
A woman turns to go.

Outside the children laugh and play
And though your heart may yearn
The glow of innocence is gone
And never can return.

The sun goes up,
The sun goes down
The days creeep quickly by
Before you’ve seen the twinkling stars
Dark clouds have filled the sky

You hear them in the early Spring
You hear their distant cry
But when the leaves begin to fall
Wild geese must homeward fly

The blossom forms, the flower blooms
The wild rose blushes red
See it, touch it, savour it now
Before it’s withered and dead.

That morning when I opened my eyes
Sunlight from the window sill danced across the room.
I watched transfixed as everything seemed new.
Everything was the same,
Yet everything had changed.
Something had shifted,
I knew I could go on.
Life was calling,
And I was ready to answer.