I am posting my 50th blog. I never imagined that I would be a blogger, let alone one who tried to “gather the pieces of my life under the eye of the Holy.” But here I am–writing, creating, and sharing with a larger world, much of which is unknown to me. The endeavor has meant that I have needed to look first inward at my life, and ask myself where the Spirit is moving in me this week. Some weeks... Read more
Sometimes life just delivers a blow that knocks one out. Your breath is taken away, your spirit feels broken, and your heart feels irreparably damaged. I have been sitting daily this week in the presence of those who are living with this destitution. Broken trust, broken trust, broken bodies have all brought devastation to people of faith, trying to live lives of wholeness for themselves and the rest of their community. In a joyful surprise this last Monday evening I... Read more
Noise surrounds me. Even on a morning home alone, the planes buzz, the mowers grind, the washer hums. But more difficult to evade and mask is the raucous and endless noise in my head, the monkey mind. And the best parts of me long to BE STILL and KNOW GOD. I know some ways of turning the noise down, externally and internally. I have learned that not turning on the radio and TV in the morning until I have had... Read more
“A little child shall lead them” says the prophet Isaiah, in a metaphor for the peaceable reign of God. For a week I have followed a child, a grandchild of mine, almost 8, here on a visit. I pondered as I was trying to keep pace with him about what peace would look like if a child were to lead us there: it would be energetic! with the beginning of every day, the child would open with the question, “What... Read more
I awake to a new day, and wonder which hat to wear. At 8 a.m., I don the Homemaker hat in which I make sure that the house is ready for guests. At 8:30 I change into the Advisor hat, helping someone with a writing project. Next in line is the Convener hat which allows me to gather conversations into sacred moments. And stack of hats awaits the unfolding of the day: the writer’s beret for imaging, the fascinator for... Read more
From the far coast we remember the anniversary of the horror and grief and carnage of the attack on the United States by terrorists, O Gentle and Powerful Holy One, and we pray that we will be part of the repair work to be poured out on the wounds in our world: Give us open eyes to notice the grief and separations that keep human beings from love. Give us open ears to hear the longings and wounds that prompt... Read more
I wake up longing for water…in me, around me, through me. I feel dryness of body, mind and spirit. I want to touch it, feel it, see it, hear it, smell it. Maybe that is what a whirlwind summer does, depletes the supple of water, empties the well. In this state of thirst, it is easy to fear that there is no water. But with a few quick moments of attention, I see, feel and smell that there is water... Read more
How can I remember the things I have seen, the people I have met, the signs and wonders that I have experiences when I return from a pilgrimage of body and soul? Is there lasting value in being on pilgrimage? Certainly there are photos, postcards, brochures gathered. But the treasures of the journey become more deeply etched in my Spirit when I tell the stories of my journey, and what gifts I was given along the way. I am musing... Read more
On a road trip across the western part of the country, one is treated to an unending parade of road signs: Falling Rocks, Road Work Ahead, and those signs without words, indicating curves, steep grades and the presence of creatures who might be crossing the highways. What was often baffling to me in trip from which I just returned was the failure of the warned phenomena to appear: I never saw cattle or deer or elk crossing the road. Many... Read more
I am about to leave on a road trip, which I always try to practice as spiritual pilgrimage. My guide to that whole enterprise for many years now has been Phil Cousineau in his book, The Art of Pilgrimage. He says that a pilgrimage is a “transformative journey to a spiritual center.” This trip is not solely dedicated to the task of finding a spiritual center; it involves family connections, wilderness and mountain exploration, hospitality of friends. However, even with... Read more
A Musing Amma
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