Thank you for posting this - and thank you for all of the time and effort you put into teaching people those things that are so crucially important, and making sure that they know they are not alone, and not helpless. It’s an honor to call you friend!

Litany of Humility

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved…
From the desire of being extolled …
From the desire of being honored …
From the desire of being praised …
From the desire of being preferred to others…
From the desire of being consulted …
From the desire of being approved …
From the fear of being humiliated …
From the fear of being despised…
From the fear of suffering rebukes …
From the fear of being calumniated …
From the fear of being forgotten …
From the fear of being ridiculed …
From the fear of being wronged …
From the fear of being suspected …
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I …
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease …
That others may be chosen and I set aside …
That others may be praised and I unnoticed …
That others may be preferred to me in everything…
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…

It is called Honesty and it is best read aloud. (Thanks again)

Honesty has one pesky flaw
the jagged rough edges defining its wall
in one hand you hold your plans
your dates your mates your traveling band
that play the tunes that touch your soul
that keep you young and feed the old

but oh the trips that cramp your grip
and loosen the feel of your fingertip
as out come the others
with the words of your brothers
that smother and cover the pride of our mothers.

They catch you quick
return all the chicks
with their kicks and their tricks
just to be in the mix.
and off you’re a goin
with this false motive showin
and the globe of your self is the only world you’re knowin

and sooner or later when the beat hits you wrong
and you fall through the floor just to see if you are strong
or decent enough to return to your feet
and carry yourself back to your old street

but before that occurs you’ve returned to the tour
in search of the cure of a life that’s not yours.

So with shoulders flexed
you’re off to the next
game that they have
but maybe has them
but no ones a savior
they just let themselves in

But it’s just like a show that you see on a stage
seduces you in just to fill you with rage
and with all this time
that you loose in the slime
cause it just seemed to fit
or the words seemed to rhyme
those that let you be you
got tired of waitin
and off on their roads
and their halls thier’a pacing

running frantic and fast
wondering what did I do?
waste a good heart and mind
in the shadows of you.

and just as their ready to be taken from town
is when you ring in from evolved falling ground
but with a new point of view
that at vaguest is true
and you got no excuse to do the things that you do.
but you tell her you’re sorry for making her blue.

So she takes you back and you keep rolling on
and you share all the feelings that you had when alone
But somewhere in the middle not so east but far from west
Is where it all appears the mountain at its crest

So you offer all you got and you show her promised valleys
you tell her inevitable facts and plotted comfort alleys
In route to the spot
that lies the sacred plot
that at this point has been with you
since you were but a tot.

But she laughs in your face
and fills you with disgrace
and you can’t say she’s wrong
for not digging up some grace

So you know you’ve got to go
and you wish her all the best
then you catch up with your friends
they make the damnedest pest

and the cycle remains in a life scared with ease
as you blow through your days
like warm winter breeze

but where will it stop or even settle down
so many rides in so many towns
but all the same scenes just on different days
as up come the walls of this figurative maze

With all roads leading out but drawing people in
and you can’t keep track of all the pigs in your pin

So you go on and leave packed light as expected
but the others care less as they’re chronically dejected.
and onward you go with no one to follow
if it’s good
if it’s bad
it is you who will swallow
the truths that you find at the end of your road
that you’ve searched for so long that you think you’ll explode

Then a thought crosses your mind as you try not to look back
that the answers you’re hunting might be found on the track
and the people you used though spent and confused
paid their dues
just to lose
as they clung to your shoes

were the ones you should affect
Not detect and inspect and avoid like a wreck

Run the risk of giving up all that you were holdin
because you thought you were the best
and that your shoes were golden

But who wants to climb to be left upon a peak
all you had you held inside and never thought to speak
cause when you did you feared the worse you just might be rejected
but when it’s dark and your all alone your thoughts must be inspected

Because everyone has that same inner voice
though coincidence seeps in you and can rob you of choice
to lead you down a specific path
and maybe you’ll pick up a skill or a craft
but until you do while you’re rolling along
seek out the lost and see what is wrong
cause maybe you’ll provide direction
for their trip
and catch the answers bold and full
as they erupt from between your lips.

Andy McGee