The flock thickens
over the roiling, salt brightness. Listen,
maybe such devotion, in which one holds the world
in the clasp of attention, isn’t the perfect prayer,
but it must be close, for the sorrow, whose name is doubt,
is thus subdued, and not through the weaponry of reason,
but of pure submission. Tell me, what else
could beauty be [...]
Posted in Lenten Online Retreat, Visual Meditation | 12 Comments »
** Stop by last Monday’s post to find out more about 50% for Haiti **
© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts
Posted in Photos, Poetry | 3 Comments »
I wrote this poem in my journal on Sunday and discovered this morning that a former student died suddenly yesterday. I offer this here in honor of Rob and for all those who are grieving for a multitude of losses:
___________________________________________
***
Let it Be Winter Still
Let it be winter a while longer,
Let darkness be my closest companion
cradling [...]
Posted in Grief, Photos, Poetry | 19 Comments »
It takes clear space, contemplative time, and good conversation to engage complex problems. Busyness, consumerism, and their accompanying anxiety can easily become substitutes for meaning and clarity of purpose, numbing our capacity to act responsively. Allowing us to be selectively attentive and to filter out complexity and ambiguity, they foster superficial thinking, short-term perspectives, and [...]
Posted in Abbey Online Classes, Art, Creativity, & Spirituality Retreat, Lenten Online Retreat | 3 Comments »
I have been feeling tired this week, unwell, my body feels tender and fatigued and so I am taking extra care of myself. My spirit is also feeling tender, in part because my body is vulnerable, but also because of the tragic events in Haiti, my mother-in-law’s gradual decline with dementia, and some much smaller [...]
Posted in Contemplative Living, Grief | 11 Comments »
I grew up in New York City where my father worked for the United Nations. He was half Latvian (father’s side) and half Austrian (mother’s side) and at age 12, during World War II, he had to flee Riga where he was raised to go to Vienna and live with his grandparents. For my entire [...]
Posted in Visual Meditation | 10 Comments »
We had a smaller – but no less lovely – gathering for this week’s Poetry Party. Make sure to stop by and read the jewels offered there. The winner of the random drawing this week for a copy of Sacred Poetry: An Invitation to Write is Sharon – email me with your snail mail and I [...]
Posted in Fun | Comments Off
All beings
are words of God,
His music, His
art.
Sacred books we are, for the infinite camps
in our
souls.
Every act reveals God and expands His being.
I know that may be hard
to comprehend.
All creatures are doing their best
to help God in His birth
of Himself.
Enough talk for the night.
He is laboring in me;
I need to be silent
for a while,
worlds are forming
in [...]
Posted in Contemplative Living | 5 Comments »
Welcome to our Poetry Party #43!
I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add your responses in the comments section. Feel free to take your poem in any direction (ie, you can break the “rules” suggested below) and then post the image and invitation on your blog (if [...]
Posted in Poetry Party Invitation | 13 Comments »
They can be like a sun, words.
They can do for the heart
what light can
for a field.
-St. John of the Cross, Love Poems from God (translated by Daniel Ladinsky)*
On January 1st I posted this invitation to share your word for the year and over 130 of you responded! Reading through your words was moving, inspiring, and [...]
Posted in Fun | 9 Comments »
