“What is serious to human beings is often trivial in the sight of God. What in God might appear to us as ‘play’ is perhaps what God takes most seriously. God plays…in the garden of creation, and, if we could let go of our obsessions with what we think is the meaning of it all, […]

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photo: Michelle standing in the forest
I adore my husband and know I am blessed to count him as my closest friend.  Even with that gift in my life, I hunger for the friendship and support of other women. 
My dear friend Michelle lives in Vancouver now and with me in Seattle, we have to be intentional about […]

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A story from the desert fathers: Abba Lot came to Abba Joseph and said: Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my prayer, meditation and contemplative silence; and, according as I am able, I strive to cleanse my heart of thoughts: now what more should I do? […]

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The art of savoring is at the heart of the sacred art of living.  Savor this lovely reflection by Rose Marie Berger and may you be inspired to savor these days of summer. . .
(from the July issue of Sojourners, an amazing progressive Christian magazine focused on peace and justice):
I’ve had the joy of visiting a small Christian community […]

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I tend to listen to music while I am driving.  When I am at home I cherish silence and stillness, so I find car trips especially good times to explore new music.  It was a treat to listen to Trish Bruxvoort Colligan’s CD Splash! Bathtime and Bedtime Music for Grown-Up Girls (don’t you just love […]

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Creativity arises out of the tension between spontaneity and limitations, the latter – like the river banks – forcing the spontaneity into various forms which are essential to the work of art or poem.   - Rollo May
The creative life requires this gentle tension between freedom and structure, or spontaneity and limitations as May says.  This […]

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I have an altar space in my prayer corner in our living room. It is set on top of a beautiful old secretary desk that is from my father’s family and so in the last century and a half has traveled from Latvia to Vienna to New York to Sacramento to San Francisco to Berkeley to […]

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A New Moon teaches gradualness 
and deliberation and how one gives birth 
to oneself slowly. Patience with small details 
makes perfect a large work, like the universe. 
What nine months of attention does for an embryo 
forty early mornings will do 
for your gradually growing wholeness. 
-Rumi
Imagine if we allowed the moon to teach us the wisdom of patience.  Or pregnancy to teach us the wisdom of slowness.  What in your daily life might you take the time to observe to be reminded of the beauty and necessity of the slow unfolding of our souls?

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To follow up on my last post, some wonderful and wise words from the great mystic Chardin:
Above all, trust the slow work of God.
We are, quite naturally,
impatient in everything to reach the end
without delay.
We should like to skip
the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on
the way to something unknown,
something new,
and yet it is the law of […]

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Those of you who have seen me and asked about my vacation in Kauai have heard me talk primarily about one thing: Sea Turtles.  Snorkeling with those ancient and slow creatures was a highlight for me and turtles keep showing up in my imagination as a guide for me in these summer days.  Last Friday I went to […]

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