Broken, we kneel; humbled, we cry: help, Jesus! Raise us gently on high. Book of Common Prayer
Gently
Stay seated
when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, “Her silent defiance spoke for a whole people.” (Brian Lanker) … Regardless of how long she ruminated on her decision to resist, it was done with careful and precise thought. Her transformative act of justice was instituted without words. For is it not true that actions speak louder than words? Is it not true that I can show you better than I can tell you? ~ Barbara L. Peacock
Opening
Let there be an opening into the quiet that lies beneath the chaos, where you find the peace you did not think possible and see what shimmers within the storm. ~ Jan Richardson, Blessing in the chaos
Where is the opening for you?
When day comes
When day comes, we step out of the shade,
Aflame and unafraid.
The new dawn blooms as we free it,
For there is always light,
If only we’re brave enough to see it,
If only we’re brave enough to be it. ~ Amanda Gorman
Wild living
“What will ground us is a commitment to return to the center even as we travel life’s edges. We must find spaces for silence and solitude so we can listen. The monk in the world knows that holy pauses are essential for discovering the meaning of our experiences. There is no map. We can only drop deep into our hearts to guide us through our next steps. Nature is a wise teacher. It calls us to explore what it means to live a wild life. A wild life is one that is not domesticated into boxes of safety. It is a risky way of being because in the wild there is always an encounter with fierce forces.” ~ Christine Valters Paintner, The Soul of a Pilgrim
How do you listen into the wild edges?
Dawn
… Light
You invite me into delight!
Beauty. Abundance.
I stretch to embrace. … ~ Maureen Fowler
How do you invite the light?
With the Eyes of the Heart 