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Think of the last time you were afraid, the shortness of breath, the no-please- I-don’t-want-to- feel-that-way-stomach-knots that made it impossible to move and all you did to find courage. Universal courage.

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Think of the last time love surrounded you and gave you a sense of safety, so much shelter and growth that you just wanted to pass that to another who was vulnerable but full of potential and on the verge of courage,  but they were so full of fear they were about to drown and love was a lifeline that you extended. 

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Think of the last time love swelled in your heart and you had to give it, for it flowed from you unbidden to the one you loved, and the beloved was all you could see, and it made you forget yourself and you could sacrifice anything, but that sacrifice would never hurt, or limit, or destroy, that love was growth, that love was harmony.

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Think of the last time sacrifice didn’t feel like giving anything up, but it was an expression of love, a giving of time and place to something greater, and your priorities made it so clear what needed to be sacrificed so all, without exception, could thrive and live and grow, and it was equally clear what would never ever be sacrificed. That was hope. That was caring. That was compassion.

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Think of love that is not blind, but is seeing deeper than the surface, but more like seeing into the soul, beyond the skin, and the bones, and the have and have not, and the wealth and the poverty. Universal love. Love free from judgement.

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Think of friendship that does not control, or trap or oppress, or thrive on put downs, but sees the common ground and is the truest expression of love. Universal friendship.

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Do this to find the common ground.

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Then, walk on the common ground. Dance on the common ground.

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Sing of the common ground.

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Does this look and feel like freedom?

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                             Words and Image (c) June Perkins

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