Post No. 069: The Oneness Of God — A Body's Life Is Temporary

(Image by Paul Whiting)

A Body's Life Is Temporary

I know that my human body,
just like every other body, is
not going to live forever, but
my soul, just like every other
soul, is going to live forever!

-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., Three Dark Horses)
"I am the darkness which brings the light!"

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My Writing About A Body's Life And A Soul's Life: A body's life is temporary! A soul's life is eternal! –Paul Whiting (written August 5th, 2015 and revised October 10th, 2022)

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My Writing About Getting Ready To Die [October 10th, 2015 Update]: I am only planning on doing a limited amount of new writing, since I think that I am getting ready to die, because I am tired most of the time! Thus, I think that after being HIV-positive for so long that I am not going to be here much longer... (I was diagnosed in November of 2000.) So, I am planning to only work on my personal care (that is, my day-to-day living) and my civic duty (that is, participating in upcoming elections by voting, including 'special elections'). Plus, I am taking the time to reread, edit and revise my blogs ('writing is revising'), so that I can correct all the mistakes that I have made in my existing writing!

–Paul Whiting (written October 10th, 2015, revised November 3rd, 2015, revised November 5th, 2015, revised November 10th, 2015, revised November 21st, 2015, revised November 24th, 2015, revised December 10th, 2015, revised December 29th, 2015, revised August 3rd, 2021, revised August 27th, 2022, revised February 15th, 2023 and revised April 1st, 2024)

[I feel like I need to clarify why there are so many 'revised dates' on this 'my writing,' just like there are often times so many 'revised dates' on other 'my writings' similar to this one! You see, I really try to keep my writing consistent as possible across all of my blogs. Therefore, as I am writing, I try to use the same phraseology wherever possible with regard to similar types of my writing so that, when I am editing my writing, I can change all of the similar writing at the same time and in the same way! Thus, a lot of the revisions indicated above, after my name (–Paul Whiting), and shown right after the original 'written date,' are often times due to these aforementioned consistent-writing revisions.]

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My Writing About Still Being Alive [August 3rd, 2021 Update]: I am still alive! And I am feeling a lot better than I was feeling—a couple of months short of exactly six years ago—when I wrote my 'October 10th, 2015 Update' (that also appears as 'My Writing About Getting Ready To Die' on some of my blogs), which can be found above. Plus, I have a smartphone again, after years of only having a basic phone. So, I am editing all of my blogs, but I am still preparing for death—especially now with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, I received my very first COVID-19 vaccine on June 25th, 2021, and I am now fully vaccinated for COVID-19, so there is still hope.

–Paul Whiting (written August 3rd, 2021, revised September 28th, 2021, revised June 15th, 2022, revised August 27th, 2022, revised August 28th, 2022, revised February 15th, 2023, revised June 8th, 2023 and revised April 1st, 2024)

[I feel like I need to clarify why there are so many 'revised dates' on this 'my writing,' just like there are often times so many 'revised dates' on other 'my writings' similar to this one! You see, I really try to keep my writing consistent as possible across all of my blogs. Therefore, as I am writing, I try to use the same phraseology wherever possible with regard to similar types of my writing so that, when I am editing my writing, I can change all of the similar writing at the same time and in the same way! Thus, a lot of the revisions indicated above, after my name (–Paul Whiting), and shown right after the original 'written date,' are often times due to these aforementioned consistent-writing revisions.]

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My Writing About My Blogs Being Sabotaged By Someone Who Is Very 'Tech Savvy,' Regarding The Blog Post "A Body's Life Is Temporary" [October 15th, 2021 Update]:

I think that my blogs are being sabotaged by someone who is very 'tech savvy,' and they may be someone that I know, because I have noticed strange things happening while I have been editing my writing, which includes the blog post "A Body's Life Is Temporary" not appearing on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog!

And I cannot even see it on the Blogger Dashboard, but I can go to that post directly—since the post title is listed in the labels—however, it appears as if I never published that particular blog post on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog.

So, I provided a hyperlink to the blog post "A Body's Life Is Temporary" from the aforementioned blog on my "Small All White in the Forest," "Three Dark Horses" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs. (Please see the hyperlinks below for the posts.) You see, I am afraid of having that post appear as if it is not, in fact, published on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog—and that is why I provided a hyperlink. (Please see the hyperlink below for the post.)

–Paul Whiting (written October 15th, 2021, revised July 28th, 2022, revised July 29th, 2022 and revised February 18th, 2023)

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/2015/08/a-bodys-life-is-temporary.html

https://threedarkhorses.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-oneness-of-god-bodys-life-is.html

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/2022/04/for-easter-weekend-part-2-bodys-life-is.html

https://poetartistandphilosopher.blogspot.com/2015/08/a-bodys-life-is-temporary.html

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My Spiritual Notes:

The reason that I wrote this poem can be summed up with the following statement: What inspired this poem is my impending death, because I know that my human body, just like every other body, is not going to live forever (the reader should know that I am HIV-positive and that I have full-blown AIDS), but my soul, just like every other soul, is going to live forever!

And this poem was also published on my "Small All White in the Forest" "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs (please see the hyperlinks below for the blogs), since I feel that the message in this poem applies to the message that I am trying to convey through "Small All White in the Forest," "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer."

This poem was written in Portland, Oregon.

-Paulee

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com

https://poetartistandphilosopher.blogspot.com

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com

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October 10th, 2015 Update [My Writing About Getting Ready To Die]: I am only planning on doing a limited amount of new writing, since I think that I am getting ready to die, because I am tired most of the time! Thus, I think that after being HIV-positive for so long that I am not going to be here much longer... (I was diagnosed in November of 2000.) So, I am planning to only work on my personal care (that is, my day-to-day living) and my civic duty (that is, participating in upcoming elections by voting, including 'special elections'). Plus, I am taking the time to reread, edit and revise my blogs ('writing is revising'), so that I can correct all the mistakes that I have made in my existing writing!

–Paul Whiting (written October 10th, 2015, revised November 3rd, 2015, revised November 5th, 2015, revised November 10th, 2015, revised November 21st, 2015, revised November 24th, 2015, revised December 10th, 2015, revised December 29th, 2015, revised August 3rd, 2021, revised August 27th, 2022, revised February 15th, 2023 and revised April 1st, 2024)

[I feel like I need to clarify why there are so many 'revised dates' on this 'update,' just like there are often times so many 'revised dates' on other 'updates' similar to this one! You see, I really try to keep my writing consistent as possible across all of my blogs. Therefore, as I am writing, I try to use the same phraseology wherever possible with regard to similar types of my writing so that, when I am editing my writing, I can change all of the similar writing at the same time and in the same way! Thus, a lot of the revisions indicated above, after my name (–Paul Whiting), and shown right after the original 'written date,' are often times due to these aforementioned consistent-writing revisions.]

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August 3rd, 2021 Update [My Writing About Still Being Alive]: I am still alive! And I am feeling a lot better than I was feeling—a couple of months short of exactly six years ago—when I wrote my 'October 10th, 2015 Update' (that also appears as 'My Writing About Getting Ready To Die' on some of my blogs), which can be found above. Plus, I have a smartphone again, after years of only having a basic phone. So, I am editing all of my blogs, but I am still preparing for death—especially now with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, I received my very first COVID-19 vaccine on June 25th, 2021, and I am now fully vaccinated for COVID-19, so there is still hope.

–Paul Whiting (written August 3rd, 2021, revised September 28th, 2021, revised June 15th, 2022, revised August 27th, 2022, revised August 28th, 2022, revised February 15th, 2023, revised June 8th, 2023 and revised April 1st, 2024)

[I feel like I need to clarify why there are so many 'revised dates' on this 'update,' just like there are often times so many 'revised dates' on other 'updates' similar to this one! You see, I really try to keep my writing consistent as possible across all of my blogs. Therefore, as I am writing, I try to use the same phraseology wherever possible with regard to similar types of my writing so that, when I am editing my writing, I can change all of the similar writing at the same time and in the same way! Thus, a lot of the revisions indicated above, after my name (–Paul Whiting), and shown right after the original 'written date,' are often times due to these aforementioned consistent-writing revisions.]

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October 15th, 2021 Update [My Writing About My Blogs Being Sabotaged By Someone Who Is Very 'Tech Savvy,' Regarding The Blog Post "A Body's Life Is Temporary"]:

I think that my blogs are being sabotaged by someone who is very 'tech savvy,' and they may be someone that I know, because I have noticed strange things happening while I have been editing my writing, which includes the blog post "A Body's Life Is Temporary" not appearing on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog!

And I cannot even see it on the Blogger Dashboard, but I can go to that post directly—since the post title is listed in the labels—however, it appears as if I never published that particular blog post on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog.

So, I provided a hyperlink to the blog post "A Body's Life Is Temporary" from the aforementioned blog on my "Small All White in the Forest," "Three Dark Horses" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs. (Please see the hyperlinks below for the posts.) You see, I am afraid of having that post appear as if it is not, in fact, published on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog—and that is why I provided a hyperlink. (Please see the hyperlink below for the post.)

–Paul Whiting (written October 15th, 2021, revised July 28th, 2022, revised July 29th, 2022, revised February 18th, 2023 and revised February 18th, 2023)

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/2015/08/a-bodys-life-is-temporary.html

https://threedarkhorses.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-oneness-of-god-bodys-life-is.html

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/2022/04/for-easter-weekend-part-2-bodys-life-is.html

https://poetartistandphilosopher.blogspot.com/2015/08/a-bodys-life-is-temporary.html

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P.S.: If you are interested in reading all of the posts in the series I wrote that include the poem "A Body's Life Is Temporary" from the above-mentioned blogs, which are listed under the post label, "Dying Death and Loss" on my "Small All White in the Forest," "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs, please see the hyperlinks below:

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/search/label/Dying%20Death%20and%20Loss

https://poetartistandphilosopher.blogspot.com/search/label/Dying%20Death%20and%20Loss

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/search/label/Dying%20Death%20and%20Loss

P.P.S.: If you are interested in reading all of the posts in the series I wrote that include the poem "A Body's Life Is Temporary" from the above-mentioned blogs, which are listed under the post label,"Facing My Fear of Death" on my "Small All White in the Forest," "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs, please see the hyperlinks below:

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/search/label/Facing%20My%20Fear%20of%20Death

https://poetartistandphilosopher.blogspot.com/search/label/Facing%20My%20Fear%20of%20Death

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/search/label/Facing%20My%20Fear%20of%20Death

P.P.P.S.: If you are interested in reading all of the posts in the series I wrote that include the poem "A Body's Life Is Temporary" from the above-mentioned blogs, which are listed under the post label, "Eternal" on my "Small All White in the Forest," "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs, please see the hyperlinks below:

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/search/label/Eternal

https://poetartistandphilosopher.blogspot.com/search/label/Eternal

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/search/label/Eternal

P.P.P.P.S.: If you are interested in reading all of the posts in the series I wrote that include the poem "A Body's Life Is Temporary" from the above-mentioned blogs, which are listed under the post label, "Life(time)" on my "Small All White in the Forest," "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs, please see the hyperlinks below:

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/search/label/Life%28time%29

https://poetartistandphilosopher.blogspot.com/search/label/Life%28time%29

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/search/label/Life%28time%29

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This "Three Dark Horses" Post No. 069 was edited on July 2nd, 2026.

"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]

Post No. 024: The Oneness Of God — And Found God

(Image from ForWallpaper.com)

And Found God

I came to the edge of understanding
and found God patiently waiting.

I looked upon the face of death
and found God calmly breathing.

I gave up my hopes and dreams
and found God secretly believing.

I basked in anger and resentment
and found God totally forgiving.

I wallowed in the depths of sadness
and found God quietly reflecting.

I embraced the pomp of certainty
and found God playfully laughing.

I feared that no one would love me
and found God disarmingly adoring.

I came to a new understanding
and found God joyously celebrating.

-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., Three Dark Horses)
"I am the darkness which brings the light!"

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My Writing About How God Mirrors Whatever We Believe To Be True: I think that God is a quantum computer, because God's Consciousness is the entire Universe! And I also think that you and I are individual projections of God's Consciousness—as individual manifestations of God—and that we are all Gods and/or Goddesses of our own creations! Therefore, God acts just like a "Karmic Mirror," if you will, reflecting what each one of us believes to be true about ourselves, and each other, in relationship to God's Universe. Thus, God simply reflects whatever you and I believe to be true—no matter what we believe—because God is simply mirroring us, being an exact reflection of God, as individual manifestations of God. –Paul Whiting (written August 5th, 2011, revised March 20th, 2015, revised July 29th, 2021, revised March 21st, 2022, revised July 24th, 2022 and revised January 31st, 2023)

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My Spiritual Notes:

The reason that I wrote this poem can be summed up with the following statement: After moving to Portland, Oregon in August of 1999 from Salt Lake City, Utah, where I was born, I returned back to Utah for about two years from January of 2007 to April of 2009, while I was trying to save money, by living with my father, as I tried to pay off my credit card debt.

Then, a few months after returning to Salt Lake City, I became really sick and I was hospitalized about a dozen times over several months due to multiple infections. Plus, I went from being simply HIV-positive to having full-blown AIDS, which is also when I stopped being able to work. Also, I eventually had to declare bankruptcy, and I applied to receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), since I could no longer work. And I almost died a few times due to the various opportunistic infections. But it was the last time that I almost died—and I faced my fear of not being able to take care of myself—which inspired this poem! Plus, this is when I first started taking HIV medications, which I have been taking ever since, and that has really helped to maintain my good health.

And this poem was also published on my "Small All White in the Forest" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs (please see the hyperlinks below for the blogs), since I feel that the message in this poem applies to the message that I am trying to convey through "Small All White in the Forest" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer."

This poem was written in Salt Lake City, Utah.

However, I may be remembering that incorrectly, because this poem may have been written in Portland, Oregon after I moved there for the second time in 2009; but, I think that this was the only poem that I wrote while I was still in Salt Lake City, Utah when I returned to try and pay off my credit card debt.

-Paulee

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com

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P.S.: If you are interested in reading all of the posts in the series I wrote that include the poem "And Found God" from the above-mentioned blogs, which are listed under the post title, "For The Creator, Part 1" through "For The Creator, Part 5" on both of my "Small All White in the Forest" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs, please see the hyperlinks below:

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/search/label/For%20The%20Creator

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/search/label/For%20The%20Creator

P.P.S.: If you are interested in reading all of the posts in the series I wrote that include the poem "And Found God" from the above-mentioned blogs, which are listed under the post label, "God Is Us" on my "Small All White in the Forest" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs, please see the hyperlinks below:

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/search/label/God%20Is%20Us

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/search/label/God%20Is%20Us

P.P.P.S.: If you are interested in reading all of the posts in the series I wrote that include the poem "And Found God" from the above-mentioned blogs, which are listed under the post label, "God" on both of my "Small All White in the Forest" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs, please see the hyperlinks below:

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/search/label/God

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/search/label/God

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This "Three Dark Horses" Post No. 024 was edited on July 2nd, 2026.

"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]

Post No. 021: The Oneness Of God — To Finally Be Free

(Image from muslimmatters.org)

To Finally Be Free

I am on the precipice,
looking over its edge,
and ready to step off!

I have come to this place
by choice: I have run until
there was no more ground;

I have hidden until there
was no more cover; I have
denied until I faced death.

This is a good place to be
after such a long journey!
It is good to just stand still.

It is good to not be numb.
It is good to be uncomfortable.
It is good to know I can heal.

Although, I wish I didn’t have to:
I would rather already be there;
I just want this to be over!

But the only way past this
is to go through it; the only way to
get out of this is to go all the way in.

And I know that I will get there—
eventually—and that my journey
will truly begin once I do.

It’s just hard knowing how much
it may hurt—and even harder not
knowing how much it will hurt.

Still I am here, looking down,
just wondering what it will be like
to finally be free of this pain.

-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., Three Dark Horses)
"I am the darkness which brings the light!"

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My Spiritual Notes:

The reason that I wrote this poem can be summed up with the following statement: I tested HIV-positive in November of 2000! And I really felt like a failure, because "I was going to get AIDS and die like all of the other fags." So, I wrote this poem as a way to try and make myself feel better by seeing this "life challenge" as an opportunity to heal!

Plus, this poem was formerly published on my "Small All White in the Forest" blog but, unfortunately, I accidentally deleted this poem on my "Small All White in the Forest" blog while I was doing some editing on that blog.

However, I republished the "Absolutely Positive, Part 3 — To Finally Be Free" post as it was originally published on my "Small All White in the Forest" blog on my new "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blog.

Thus, this poem was also published on my "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blog (please see the hyperlink below for the blog), since I feel that the message in this poem applies to the message that I am trying to convey through "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer."

This poem was written in Portland, Oregon.

-Paulee

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com

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P.S.: If you are interested in reading all of the posts in the series I wrote that include the poem "To Finally Be Free" from the above-mentioned blogs, which are listed under the post title, "Absolutely Positive, Part 1" and "Absolutely Positive, Part 2" on my "Small All White in the Forest" blog, as well as listed under the post title, "Absolutely Positive, Part 1" through "Absolutely Positive, Part 3" on my "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blog, please see the hyperlinks below:

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/search/label/Absolutely%20Positive

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/search/label/Absolutely%20Positive

P.P.S.: If you are interested in reading all of the posts in the series I wrote that include the poem "To Finally Be Free" from the above-mentioned blogs, which are listed under the post label, "Grieving and Healing" on both of my "Small All White in the Forest" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs, please see the hyperlinks below:

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/search/label/Grieving%20and%20Healing

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/search/label/Grieving%20and%20Healing

P.P.P.S.: If you are interested in reading all of the posts in the series I wrote that include the poem "To Finally Be Free" from the above-mentioned blogs, which are listed under the post label, "Heal(ing)" on both of my "Small All White in the Forest" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs, please see the hyperlinks below:

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/search/label/Heal%28ing%29

https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/search/label/Heal%28ing%29

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This "Three Dark Horses" Post No. 021 was edited on July 2nd, 2026.

"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]