Everything in me
is quiet like
a rug spread
out in the sun to dry. – Barbara Gibson
What does quiet look like within you?
Winter approach
Silence
“We need to find God, and God cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.” Teresa of Calcutta
What touches your soul?
Beneath the storm
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, The Cure For Sorrow
What do you discover beneath the chaos?
Compassion
“…going down into the deep pain of another is like jumping into a bottomless abyss – not knowing if or where one will land. To grasp another’s pain means letting go of our own safety limb and falling down to an unknown place. In this place we maybe won’t have the answers that will help alleviate the pain or explain it. We have to be willing to admit, then and there, down in the pit, that we too are helpless and weak and powerless. And who wants to do that, or be there?” Henri Nouwen
How are you called to presence with?
Setting sail
“It takes courage to set sail in a new direction of life. Our minds to venture in catching winds of time and change. And the sun rising with a fresh perspective.” Linda J. Wolff
What new direction asks for your courage?
Slowing down
Do not hurry. as you walk with grief; it does not help the journey.
Walk slowly. pausing often: do not hurry as you walk with grief. …
Take time, be gentle as you walk with grief. From Northumbria Prayerbook
In these months of covid the big and small losses add up. What are you grieving?
With the Eyes of the Heart 