Visit the Abbey of the Arts online retreat platform to access your programs:

Visual Meditation: A Father’s Birthday

The words are coming slowly for me this week so time for me to rest in some visual expression.  These photos were taken in Jurmala on the coast of Latvia, a beautiful place where the thick forest meets the Baltic sea, and the land where my father was born.  He died twelve years ago and today would have been his 76th birthday.  Happy birthday Daddy, may you find yourself dancing among trees and swimming in a vast sea of love.  May you encounter a healing from the dark and difficult wounds of your earthly life and now be dazzled into a vision beyond all of your dreams.

Make sure to visit this week’s Poetry Party and submit your own offering!

-Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts

You might also enjoy

Monk in the World Guest Post: Sharon Dawn Johnson

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Sharon Dawn Johnson’s reflection Yearning For Second Spring. Seasonal Thresholds Aroused at first light, the sun peeps over nearby urban rooftops as

Read More »

5 Responses

  1. i have goosebumps here! the photos and tribute are fabulous. also, the closeness of his birthday so close to my own father’s…and falling between his birth and death dates. shall we celebrate together? :-)

    “May you encounter a healing from the dark and difficult wounds of your earthly life and now be dazzled into a vision beyond all of your dreams.” beautiful!!

  2. That camera is seriously wonderful.

    Happy birthday to your Daddy! May you be flying like them thar birs Mr Valters … or is it Mr Paintner? :)