Oh my soul...

 Christian spirituality is to love God, and strive to do His will,

And learn to accept His choices without complaining.

Knock on His door in supplication with every beat of your heart.

He may not always give us what we want but He always gives us

What He deems best according to His will and His eternal plan.

The Lord says, "Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you

Great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jeremia 33:3)

Then I heard the Lord say, "Whom shall I send? Who will be

Our messenger?" I answered, "I will go! Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8)

Oh, my soul, perpetual wanderer, companion to my fragile body

Where will you lead me now? Please take me to kingdom come,

God's will be done, to remain there in peace forever.

(Bob Mrotek 2025) 

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Just do it!

In periods when there is an authoritative geopolitical tumult,
​Initiated by a doofus ignoramus and his cohortes,
It is time to make way for the chariot of equilibrium.
And listen to the rumbling of the wheels and the grumbling
Of the people who are on their way to vacate the thrones
And re-establish the government of, by, and for the people.
No earthly power can halt the people on the​ march.
It is a majority who will rule peacefully with respect for
Their loyal opposition who provide a balance of perspectives.
Together they will remove the dung blocking the path forward,
Left by the horses of the self-proclaimed high and mighty.
Now is the time for all good citizens to save their democracy.
Rules should be enacted through representatives by two means:
The Categorical Imperative and the Golden Rule.
First by reason and rationality in moral decision making.
Second by empathy and shared prior experiences
That constitute an historical cultural natural order of things.
Make no laws that can't be universally accepted, and  
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind," and
"Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39)
If we really mean "In God we trust," Then we should do so!    

Let Liberty and Justice Prevail

All governments suffer from a recurring problem.

Power attracts pathological personalities.

It is not that power is what corrupts, but

Power is like a magnet to the corruptible.

There is nothing new under the sun.

It's been that way from the beginning. 

It was that way in the past, it is that way now, 

And it will be that way in the future, maybe, 

But only if we let Liberty and Justice die. 

Remembering the past is not much different 

Than imagining the future if the cycle be unbroken.

"But if my people, who are called by my name, 

Will humble themselves and pray and 

Seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, 

Then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins 

And I will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

(Bob Mrotek 2025)

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Hello Someday!

Being is, and non-being is not.

Becoming is not the passage from not-being to being. 

But from being in potentiality to being in reality.  

Good news! I woke up this morning in my right mind!

Most of my life I was plagued by an inner voice that said 

"Someday you are going to die and all of this shall pass away." 

Then today I woke up very early and I said to myself:

"Do you want to be thinking about dying on your last day on earth?"

I answered myself: 

"Hell no! I would rather be thinking about life eternal!" 

So, when that last day finally comes, what more can I say 

Other than, "Hello Someday," and beyond?

Quietly I lie down on the bed again and fall asleep 

Because the Lord put me in my right mind.

Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is a maybe.

What I do today I must do like life depended on it. 

(Bob Mrotek 2025) 

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What do you stand for?

Softly falls the light of day as my cares all fade away.

What I do and what I dare will have to wait for tomorrow.

It is the Lord, in whom I trust to keep me safe if it be His will,

To serve Him on earth each day for His honor and glory.

You and I will die someday and everyone else will too.

And the loved ones we leave behind will carry on.

It matters not how and when or where we are born,

Nor what race or tribe or creed we were born into,

Nor if we are male, female, or other, young, or old,

Nor how and when and where we die.

What matters most is how we lived

And what we stood for in the end. 

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Climbing the Hill of January

Sunrise, sunset. Sunrise, sunset.
One foot following the other,
Searching for the trickle-down
And thanking God for my daily bread.
I'm on the spiral road to infinity.
An evil impulse is tracking every move​,
By following my digital exhaust.
As I climb the hill of January
I look the left and slightly below
To the descending Januaries ​behind.
To the right and above, only clouds.
Home is wherever my heart is at peace,
But sin is crouching at every door,
Ready to jump at the first opportunity.
I keep marching, marching up the incline,
After January, the boredom of February,
And then the treacherous Ides of March.
Finally the road smooths out in April
With rain that brings the May flowers, 
And​ the May​ flowers ​that bring June Pilgrims.
The lazy, hazy days of mid-summer
Are a​ sweet respite from the steep climb​,
Until I begin the willy-nilly slide ​into Autumn.
Year after year, round and round it goes.
Where will it stop? The Lord only knows.
I fear that one day all of my desires
Will awaken within me at the same time
And hold my tattered soul for ransom.
We only think we enjoy our desires
While all the time we are their slaves.
Once I was young and now I am old,
​Material desires have faded to memories.
The only desire truly worth having
Is the desire for humility and charity 
Through self-sacrifice, and eternal union
With the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.  
(Bob Mrotek 2025)  

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Keep on breathing

The Bible tells us that “We live for 70 years, (or 80 years if we are healthy),
Yet even in the prime years there are troubles and sorrows. 
They pass by quickly and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:10) 
Princess Alice, who was the mother of Prince Phillip, The husband of Queen Elizabeth, 
once said, “When you reach seventy,you are no longer a participant but only an observer. 
Your only responsibility is to wait patiently and stay out of the way."
In "Paradise Lost," an epic poem by the 17th-century English poet John Milton, 
The Archangel Michael spoke to Adam as he and Eve were ushered out of Paradise,
And he gave them some advice. He said, “If you watch what you eat and drink,
And don’t overdo it you can live a long life. Then, when you get old,you will die 
A more peaceful death. However, your eyesight and your hearing 
Will get weak, and you won’t have much fun anymore. 
You will lose your youthful enthusiasm for life and become melancholy. 
Don’t hate your life or love it too much. Just live the best way that you can, come what may. 
Learn to be patient and happy. That is the best way to live. Don’t worry, God will still love you,
No matter what, if you keep your faith in Him. His Holy Spirit is present in everything living thing.
And He is just a heartbeat away, listening for your prayers which He will answer bye and bye. 
Even a short repentant sigh or a good deed done in His name will go a long way, 
For He is always listening and watching." I would only add: "In the meantime, 
Muddle through, carry on, stick it out, stay alive, and keep on breathing." 
(Bob Mrotek 2024) 

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You and I and everyone else

You and I will die and everyone else will too.

And those we leave behind will carry on.

It matters not how and where we are born,

Nor what race or creed we were born into,

Nor if we are male, female, or other,

Nor how and when and where we die.

What matters most is how we lived

And what we stood for in the end. 

Do yourself a favor, be happy with a lot, 

Or with a little, or with everything, 

Or with nothing, or with someone else, 

Or by yourself, but be happy and 

Be very grateful that you are alive. 

In the end, you will be even happier

That you did! This is the day that

The Lord has made, let us rejoice 

And be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) 

(Bob Mrotek 2024)

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Staying alive...

Whether you're a man or you're a woman,
You're just stayin' alive, stayin' alive...
Feel the whole world breakin' and everybody shakin'
And you're just stayin' alive, stayin' alive...
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive!
Well my spirits get low and then they get high,
'Cause the Lord says today ain't my time to die.
Got the blessing of Heaven on my side
I'm a believing man and I just can't hide.
I know it's good and I hope and pray
That I live to see at least one more day. 
Tomorrow is another day, and the Lord might say,
Sinner you better get ready,
Oh you better get ready Hallelujah.
Sinner you better get ready,
Better get ready 'cause sinner gonna die!
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive,..
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive!
(Bob Mrotek 2024) 

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Oh, my wandering soul...

 Oh, how busy is my ego, that tries to pin down things

That perpetually wax and wane, and come and go, to and fro.

Like the flower of youth that does or does not bear fruit,

Then fades away into the ever lengthening frozen river of time.

It does no good to focus on happiness in this vale of tears and tribulations,

Lest the storms that rage in my mind damage the peaceful garden in my soul.

I am like a donkey who is maneuvered, by means of the carrot of pleasure

And the stick of pain, to satisfy my material desires.

When I die, I will retreat into the spirit world searching for unity.

My sight will be united, together with all shapes and colors.

My hearing will be united, together with silence and all sounds

My mind will be be united together with all languages and thoughts,

Like rivers coming from the ocean flow back into the same ocean.  

I will die at the right time; me to die and you to live on.

Which of us goes toward what is best is known only to God.

Oh my wandering soul, fragile host and companion of my body,

To what places will you go when it is our time to surrender?

Come Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in my heart take up Thy rest;

Come with thy grace and heavenly aid, to fill the heart that you made. 

​(Bob Mrotek 2024) 

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