Vessels
I measure my life in vessels. They trace the contours of my days. Teacup, bowl, oil lamp, pitcher, baptismal font, Communion chalice, basin, bathtub. I sleep in the belly of night and wake under a downturned bowl of blue. I ponder their shapes as I begin to understand my own longing: wanting to be held, […]
Awakening
There are many metaphors for spiritual transformation: birthing, unfolding, awakening to name just a few. I love the image of waking ourselves up from the ways we have been asleep to our callings and to the nature of the world. Milton at Don’t Eat Alone posted a wonderful poem by Antonio Machado who writes: Beyond living and […]
Things I Love
This is a “Things I love” meme that I found at Cathy’s blog. She assigned me the letter T. A little holiday fun and a good time to reflect on some of the things that mean a lot to me. Ten things I love beginning with T: 1. Tea with cream and sugar, although I […]
Begin
This is now. Now is, all there is. Don’t wait for Then; strike the spark, light the fire. Sit at the Beloved’s table, feast with gusto, drink your fill then dance the way branches of jasmine and cypress dance in a spring wind. The green earth is your cloth; tailor your robe with dignity and […]
Windows
The window above is from the Shafer Baillie Mansion and the window below is from the Conservatory in Volunteer Park (this photo is turned on its side and then duplicated in mirror image to create a mandala). I walk by both of these lovely buildings almost every time I go for a walk in my neighborhood and I have never […]
Revealing the Bones
As I walked this morning, I became aware of the bareness of winter branches and the beauty of naked tree limbs dark against the sky. The questions of winter stirred in me. This year a new one is emerging: When I let go of all the embellishments of my life, what is the core that remains? What […]
Preparing
This season beckons me to ask, what am I preparing for? What is the way that is being prepared within the wilderness of my life? What does it mean for my own life to become a path, a way of welcome for the Holy One? How do I give myself time to notice the ways […]