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Beauty of Broken Things (continued)

For the last Poetry Party I invited you to reflect on the theme of the “beauty of broken things.”  Your poetic responses were marvelous, spanning a wide spectrum of possibility and exploration.  Many of the images moved me, such as “I am the hidden underside of things” and “ice so cold it is also fire” […]

The Thinnest Veil

Last Saturday I attended a concert of the Seattle Choral Company called “Celtic Nights” which marked the upcoming feast of Samhain on November 1st.  Samhain is the beginning of a new year in Celtic tradition and is primarily a celebration of ancestors and harvest.  It is considered one of the great doorways of the Celtic year […]

Prayer for Evening

The image is my view from the hermitage over the Hood Canal toward the Olympic mountains. -Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts

Sacred Arts Ring

I have been neglectful of my lovely web ring lately, not making the rounds to see what creative things are happening in the blogosphere.  So I hereby resolve to make this a more regular part of my reading and blogging activity.  Look for an every-other-week highlights (alternating with the Poetry Party) of what is happening […]

Ache and Delight

The week before last was the fourth anniversary of my mother’s death and I shared here before that I have been feeling called to walk willingly into some dark places.   It turns out that the anniversary was also the day I had to end a friendship.  Friendship to me has always been sacramental and so not […]

The Color of Silence

***Make sure you visit this week’s Poetry Party either by scrolling down past this post or by clicking here — as usual it is an amazing array of sacred words that keeps growing***    “Hear blessings / dropping their blossoms / around you. ” -Rumi -Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts (photos of the dahlias at Volunteer […]

Tea Time

***Make sure you visit the Poetry Party either by scrolling down past this post or by clicking here***    “Come along inside… We’ll see if tea and buns can make the world a better place.” –The Wind in the Willows I love the tradition of tea in the afternoon, especially high tea.  Something about taking time […]