Our Broken Places Many of us believe spiritual life is about helping us feel joy. We like to think spiritual life wants us to be happy. I remember singing about the joy down in my heart. Some of us believe spiritual life is about experiencing safety again. Spiritual life is not about making us miserable. I do not believe, though, it is about making us feel comfortable. We do not start over as if we had never experienced being broken.... Read more
When Do We Take Time for Listening? Many of us feel we are always running out of time. The present rushes into the past, pushing us into the future. We struggle to keep up with the flow of time in our lives but find ourselves carried along to the next thing. We fear if we take time for listening, or catching our breath, we will fall behind and miss whatever is next. Even in the worlds we create for ourselves, spiritual... Read more
You Changed My Life “You changed my life” is one of the most powerful things we can say to another person. “I love you” might be the one thing more powerful. I remember the people who have changed my life. Some of them were persistent even when I doubted my life could change. They set out to help me grow and change in ways I did not always see for myself. Other people changed my life in unexpected ways. They... Read more
The Final Morning of Winter We are almost there. This is the final morning of winter this year until just before Christmas nine months from now. Tomorrow will be the first morning which is not winter since last year. Some of us can hardly wait until winter is over tomorrow. They have endured three months of ice, snow, and bitter cold. For them, winter is a test to be endured and survived which builds character. For some of us, near... Read more
We Pray For Those Who Have Died We pray for all those who have died. For everyone who has ever been shot while worshiping at a mosque or synagogue or church or a Sikh temple or anywhere else. We pray for each person who has died violently no matter who did the killing. Our prayers are for anyone and everyone who has died neglected and alone. We pray for those who have died because they were abused, tortured, or ignored... Read more
Being Contemplative in the City Some of us believe it is impossible to be contemplative in the city. We assume we need to head out of town and away from other people to really be contemplative. Does contemplative mean to travel into the country, to the mountains or the desert, into the woods or to the beach? Many of us are convinced we need to get as far as possible from other people to be contemplative. Getting away from other... Read more
Sacred Stillness Restores Us We like to believe we understand how life works. While we may not have a user’s guide to life our experience gives us a sense of how things fits together. Some of us believe words can restore us. We become convinced we need to think or say or write the right words or read and hear the words of the right people. It is almost as if the right words have magic powers like an incantation.... Read more
Spiritual Life is Beginning to Bloom I was born and raised in the country far from where I live now. There is a cycle of cultivation and growing in the country. Each season plays its own role in the cycle. The cycle begins in winter. Winter can appear to be a time of year when nothing really happens. It is, though, a significant season because winter sets the tone for the rest of the year. Winter weather makes it a... Read more
The Next Day and the Day After That Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the first day of the liturgical season of Lent. Ash Wednesday was filled with reminders of the new liturgical season. Social networks were awash with photos and explanations to show the significance of Ash Wednesday. Some people even began marking Lent the day before with pancake dinners and special celebrations. Today and tomorrow, though, are no longer immersed in ideas about how to practice the season. These days... Read more
The Stillness of Today Today by Mary Oliver Today I’m flying low and I’m not saying a word I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep. The world goes on as it must, the bees in the garden rumbling a little, the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten. And so forth. But I’m taking the day off. Quiet as a feather. I hardly move though really I’m traveling a terrific distance. Stillness. One of the doors into the temple. Each... Read more
Strategic Monk
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