Blog Sabbatical
September 29, 2009 · by Christine
What In Your Life Is Calling You?
What in your life is calling you?
When all the noise is silenced,
the meetings adjourned,
the lists laid aside,
and the wild iris blooms by itself in the dark forest,
what still pulls on your soul?
In the silence between your heartbeats
hides a summons.
Do you hear it?
Name it, if you must,
or leave it forever nameless,
but why pretend it is not there?
-Terma Collective
“This is the first, wildest, and wisest thing I know, that the soul exists, and that it is built entirely out of attentiveness.”
-Mary Oliver
Tomorrow I will fly off to distant landscapes to begin my time of pilgrimage and be attentive to the summons between heartbeats. I will carry with me my camera, my journal and pen, and most important, an open heart ready to receive whatever gifts are offered.
My blog and the Abbey Shop will be on sabbatical for most of October (although I may pop back in with a link or two). I carry you with me as well, dear readers, because you are a part of the community which I am called to serve. When I return I will share some of what I discover.
What is the call you might hear if you set aside meetings, appointments, and lists, and simply pay attention?
What is pulling on your soul?
* There is still time to register for the Honoring Our Ancestors Art & Movement Retreat October 29-November 1, 2009 on the beautiful Hood Canal. *
© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts
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Posted in Pilgrimage | 9 Comments »
September 29th, 2009 at 6:43 am
Blessings to you on your sabbatical and pilgrimage and thanks for leaving those 2 questions to ponder. Praying your time will refresh your soul.
September 29th, 2009 at 6:44 am
I’m so looking forward to the Irish part of your pilgrimage!
September 29th, 2009 at 8:21 am
Blessings on your pilgrimage. I always enjoy the photos and writings of your journeys.
You ask, “What is pulling on my soul?” — I’m going to learn and practice Qigong, and am thrilled that finally my moku hanga woodblock now has a new, deeper direction.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
As John O’Donohue wrote in his beautiful book “To Bless the Space Between Us”:
. . . May you travel in an awakened way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you.
May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
I hope you have a fabulous time… it sounds like pure heaven.
The thing that keeps coming up for me in terms of a calling … is shadow work. I just got a book that will help me dive into shadow and welcome back all those fractured pieces that I’ve ignored. I’ve gotta stop running sometime…
Have a great trip, Christine.
September 29th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Thank you for these wonderful wishes and blessings. Bette and April, I loved hearing your responses to the questions. Maureen, John O’Donohue’s words are a wonderful gift as I ready to depart.
September 29th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Blessings… you are already taking many blessings with you and they will only be multiplied many times over. Journey mercies!
September 30th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Via con Dios!
the call I hear is for a calm and quiet spirit…for breath as sustenance, and for infinite space as a playground.
October 2nd, 2009 at 10:50 am
I just returned from a month in France where I was hit squarely between the eyes with the concept of pilgrimage…never gave it any thought before. My heart was stolen by Conques and its pilgrims.