Reflections

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Maryellen Whitaker’s reflection and poem A few small ways to grow in contemplation. In the Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist retreat, Te Martin sang a song called The Golden Thread which talks about a spider weaving a golden thread to the “center of your knowing.” My poem derives mainly from the retreat segment which talks about how nature can support the creative process, with Te’s song being part of that segment. However, there are filaments

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Anne Donze Gerber’s rewrites of Psalms 122 and 23 she created during the Earth Monastery retreat*. During The Earth Monastery Retreat in the Spring of 2026, I began to realize how attached I was to the trees in my yard, most especially to the huge old oak tree in my backyard.  It’s full of birds and songs and squirrels and chipmunks.  But what I most appreciate about the tree is the sound of the wind as it moves

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Carol Delmonico’s reflection and poems For Living Close to Death and For Surgery. Writing has been one of my early morning contemplative practices for years. This particular form came when my partner Kevin was diagnosed with cancer. As we navigated these new waters of illness and the medical system, a blessing would often come through my pen in the wee hours of the predawn morning, before he awoke. When he did rise, we’d sit in our usual

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Dr. Kellie Brown’s reflection A Liturgy for the Mini Jesus. I’ll admit that when the one-inch molded plastic Jesus figurines began to circulate a few years back, I rolled my eyes. I thought they were tacky, and there was something about how they casually but intentionally showed up in places that reminded me of the evangelical tracts from my childhood with their garish type that yelled from the cover—JESUS SAVES. When I looked theologically at this plastic Jesus’s representation