By Student Stephen Carpenter

Psalm 23 – A Psalm of King David (Standard English Version)

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

I thank GOD Almighty for Celebrating Life Ministries, the Foundation for Spiritual Development, and the Oneness Golden Age Consciousness Movement, for without you all in community, I would have been swept away by the tides of time long ago, oh so long ago… You are the true North in my life bringing me home to the Divine 24-7-365. 

The reality is I have always walked in faith with supreme trust in God Almighty, even during those years I walked sideways, so in 2021 was when it was time to go, I went. We headed east toward the rising sun with the intention of landing where God Almighty wanted us to be in this time. It took 3 days to get here, and then over the course of several months, my wife, son, and I celebrated with the dolphins in the Caribbean Sea at the white sand beach of Panama City, grooved with the positive vibes and nice waves north of Miami Beach, and chilled with the manatees in Key Largo, wow, what a nice place. I was digging that Bertie Higgins “Sail Away to Key Largo” jam while parlaying in Key Largo for a few days, though I do have to say, expensive! Oh my gosh, like seriously, even in relation to Cali if that is even possible! Those beaches and all are some of the best places to sing and play ‘ukulele by the way 😊

All the while I was seeking the right work opportunity here, trusting, praying that I would be blessed with something aligned in my professional field, EH&S, when I finally landed a gig here in the Everglades. I am ever so grateful, though there are surely life’s challenges, so I have to “apply the tools” constantly and remember to “do the work” continuously and surrender in order to make aligned choices, live in gratitude, be present, forgive, and let go and let God. It is vital for us to remember our true divine nature is infinite spiritual beings having these physical experiences. As Rūmī teaches us, “You are not a drop in the ocean; you are the ocean in a drop,” and “Love is the bridge between you and everything.”

Thank you, Padre Paul, for your love and guidance through everything, Father. I always also have to remind myself not to be in reaction to reaction and no matter what the extenuating circumstances, not to be in judgment, of people, relationships, the weather, the driver that cut me off, the driver that flipped me off, the mosquitoes, the politicians, the loud trucks, the tolls, et al. Really, who am I to judge others harshly anyway?

John 8:7 (New International Version)
“When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’”

Out here in the Everglades, things are pretty intense. The Everglades are amazingly cool, though also highly threatened by extensive development, kind of like most of the rest of the world where Starbucks and Chevrons are popping up next to Pete’s and Shells alongside MacDonald’s and Marshalls kind of thing. As in most places, the aboriginal people here did not fare well when “discovered’ by the colonizers, and, in fact, there is a ton of information pertaining to the extensive human rights violations and the so-called Seminole Wars and, of course, the 1830’s Trail of Tears from the southeastern region of the states that involved the Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek, Seminole, and Chickasaw people. There is surely a profound omnipresent opportunity for healing and reconciliation in this life.

As taught by the elders, Lake Okeechobee, the heart of the Everglades, means “big water” in the Seminole and Hitchiti language. Lake Okeechobee is a phenomenal spiritual blessing.

Psalm 24 (King James Version)
A Psalm of King David
The earth is the LORD’S and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein.

Here we are in the Everglades. I look out upon the Lake Okeechobee, something like the Serengeti of North America, the flocks of birds, the jumping fish, the alluring alligators, the turtles, the manatees, the storks, the grackles, the great blue herons, the egrets, the ibises, the frogs, the insects, the coral snakes, the water moccasins, the falcons, the hawks, the anhingas, the phenomenal breeze, the lightning storms and crackling thunder, the gentle rain with the blue sky background and double rainbow reflecting off the firmament.

Manatees in my garden, outside the kitchen window, ospreys snagging fish out of the water, fish flying through the sky in the talons of osprey sailing by, alligators everywhere, iguanas on the river banks, eagles soaring to the heavens, vultures circling like cyclones, dragonflies and butterflies floating by, flocks of egrets and herons flying from lake to lake, river to river, stream to stream.

The alligators look at you like they know something you do not, and the osprey nest high in the trees. There is an osprey nest perched up on top of the blue and yellow Walmart sign, and you can see their heads sticking out peeking around from their vantage point. It is twilight zone stuff, and then across the street, there is another osprey breeding pair nesting on top of the Wendy’s sign. It is truly amazing, something to behold, such a blessing. There is such a tender intimacy with the divine, rooted deeply in mother Earth and Father Sky. We pray for peace.

I see the fishermen set sail, some days hundreds at a time with their motorboats, one after the other, and I imagine all of the fish out there swimming in the lake. It is only 13.4’ deep but spreads out over some 730 square miles. This is the largemouth bass fishing capital of the world, and I see these men and women fishing, avidly casting their lines, stoked, loving what they are doing, truly alive, thriving in the sea of grass.

Philippians 4:19
And my God shall supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

And it reminds me of life itself, all those hooks out there in the water, and then the bass, bluegill, sunfish, catfish, trout, bull sharks, and other fish knowing or unknowing, attracted to a hook, taking the bait as it were, and at that point I suppose the unsuspecting prey can only pray that they have a catch and release sportsman or sportswoman holding the fishing rod, with their life literally in the balance, and not a subsistence fisher looking to feed his/her family with the catch. It is a real metaphor for life, as if to say, chose wisely. The metaphorical hooks and the bait are everywhere in this life, the temptations, the distractions, the opportunities, the risks, the rewards; and it is like, where is your attention, family, and what is your true intention in this game of life?

As Sri AmmaBhagavan teaches us, “Being authentic to oneself means to confront oneself,” and “Awakening is not in seeking or in resistance. Awakening is in accepting and flowing with life.”

I see my son and wife fishing on the dock, and they love fishing, especially my son who is a young boy, a child. He catches so many fish, and he lights up with so much joy, so much excitement with each and every catch. It is amazing! It makes me happy to see him so full of wonder and awe, truly present, singing in his sweet voice, and pure of heart in the moment during his continuing growth into adulthood. I cry as I write this because he has been through much already in life, and he truly deserves to experience the wonderment and innocent beauty that is the birthright of children in this world.

And of course, we put the fish back, as he unhooks them tenderly while talking to them in a gentle voice full of gratitude all the while blessing the fish before releasing the fish back to the waters from whence they have come. I shared with him that we have to release the fish to ensure the fish know that the hook on the end of our line represents that kind of hook, namely one of benevolence and loving-kindness, one that is forgiving, and one that knows only God’s mercy and calm in the storm of this life.

I love this song because it refers to each and every one of us. Divine blessings of perfect health, happiness, love and abundance! You are highly favored, family.

Pursue your dreams with all you heart and soul!

I love you, and I thank you.