A parable had been unfolding in my front yard as I have been blogging this Lent. My liquid amber tree, never quite in sync with the other trees in the neighborhood, began shedding its leaves right after Christmas in lesser and greater amounts. As of the beginning of Lent, all the old leaves are gone, save this lone one. One can see the new green shoots and foliage begun to cluster farther down and above, but as of today, this... Read more
What all this clearing and cleaning and sorting of spaces during Lent is doing is teaching me something about what kind of consumer I am: an unconscious one! I find myself asking how is it possible to have three of the same oversize bottle of the same vitamin supplement, all partially used, two of which have expired? in what culinary concoction did I imagine I would use this exotic spice? when might I expect to use up the value-pak of... Read more
The clearing out of spaces continues this third week of Lent. It continues to be a spiritual discipline; it does not feel like accomplishment. And it continues to prompt interior reflection on what I have allowed to pile up in my spirit. What takes me by surprise from time to time is the power of the memories that are a sparked by inanimate objects: a teacup of my mother’s; a merit badge from an earlier era; a careful rendered picture... Read more
The clearing out of my spaces for Lent continues, and as it does, the realization that moth and rust have corrupted some things, dirt and grime have filtered in elsewhere, and some things need to go immediately to the washing machine, becomes irrefutable. Clearing out means tackling the dirt. It amazes me, (not amuses me), how dust accumulates, pieces get broken and fall off far from their objects of origin, and somethings seem to just decay of their own volition.... Read more
My chosen Lenten practice this year is to give myself to clearing out one space in my house every day, both as a practical way of living more simply, and as a metaphor for the movement in the life of the Spirit that is attentive to cleansing, letting go, keeping myself open to the ways of the Word that is very near me. I love the practice of many folk art communities of making a new work of art with... Read more
Tomorrow we begin a Lenten journey. Following a model of Jesus and a tradition of the Church, we make an incursion into our routine in order to create a space in which our attention can be directed to the presence and invitations of the Holy One in our own lives, both widening our vision of God’s love for us and the world, and deepening our knowledge of ourselves, warts and all. Those of us who choose this practice will do... Read more
I am delighted that Susan Cain, author of Quiet has had the power, and has taken the time, to write this book which can give reassurance and practical support to so many of us introverts who have had to learn professionally and personally to develop skills to navigate this public North American culture of wall-to-wall conversation. For many of us the unremitting chatter of every arena in which we engage is exhausting and daunting, and Cain addresses that feeling, researches... Read more
Those Wise Ones who followed the star were blessed to see and to agree with each other on the Light they were following! I am not always so clear. I am finding myself like the seekers who came to the Desert Ammas and Abbas so long ago with the plea, “Give me a Word!” I have been inspired–and daunted–by those who have taken up the challenge to listen for and choose a Word for 2013, a Word like a star... Read more
It is January, bleak midwinter of many spirits, if not in all of our climates. Without the colorful decorations of the Christmas season, things look sparser and plainer, and the swell of Christmas choruses has died down until the end of the year. I have been saying farewell to people off on new adventures, and in the ethos of January, I have been known to give myself over to memories of things not accomplished in the last year and of... Read more
Each year I am drawn more and more to the Epiphany chapter of the Christmastide story. I love the yearning and desire that have kept these wise ones reading, consulting, (were they praying?) in search of Light, in following that call. As I am launched into the new year, those Wise Ones, (who says there were only three?) leave me a template of questions by which to navigate the fresh, new days ahead: am I seeking wisdom constantly for the... Read more
A Musing Amma
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