… watching for the brushstrokes of God
“As autumn gave way to winter, those bare limbs, stretched black against the sky, revealed the essence of trees and the way that death can open us to the essence of life. I was able to see the trees in a different way and came to appreciate the beauty of sparseness.” Christine Valters Paintner, The Soul’s Slow Ripening
How do you appreciate beauty in sparseness?
“I think it makes a huge difference, when you wake in the morning and come out of your house, … whether you are emerging out into a landscape that is just as much, if not more, alive as you, but in a totally different form, and if you go towards it with an open heart and a real, watchful reverence, that you will be absolutely amazed at what it will reveal to you.” John O’Donohue
What is the landscape of this season revealing to you?
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –
I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me. Emily Dickinson
What form or shape does hope take for you?
Letting go and be…
Falling leaves,
freeing the view to
what lies beyond.
What is fall inviting you to let go off? How is fall inviting you to let be?
Everything in me
is quiet like
a rug spread
out in the sun to dry. – Barbara Gibson
What does quiet look like within you?
“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?
With the Eyes of the Heart 