I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post from the community. Read on for Shelley Ferro’s reflection on contemplative photography and view the accompanying images. Art, any art, helps us to stay present.  Each day (weather permitting) I walk along the shore of a nearby lake as part of my intent to live as a monk in the world.  I show up without expectation and ready for unfoldment.  I delight in the creativity and beauty of the nature and of all life.  My camera becomes a portal, and this practice invites me

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for June Mears Driedger’s reflection Yielding to Emerging Life. I learned the story of Celtic Saint Kevin of Glendalough, the founder of the ancient Glendalough monastery, while on a Celtic pilgrimage with Abbey of the Arts in 2016. As the story is told, St. Kevin was praying with his arms outstretched in his monastery cell which was so small his right arm extended through the window. As he prayed, a blackbird nestled in his hand then began to

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to our Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Jean Wise’s reflection Linger with the Questions. For Christmas, my daughter gave me an online subscription to a story sharing software program. This package includes weekly story prompts for the recipient to respond and share a story from their life. At the end of the year, we would receive a hardcover book with all the stories collected in a legacy, keepsake compilation. Each Monday a thought-provoking, memory-stirring question pops into my email. What was your dad like

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to our Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Andrew Lang’s reflection Opening our Posture to the Sacrament of the Present Moment. I sat atop the rocky Washington beach, watching the waves of the Puget Sound coming and crashing against the shoreline. Somewhere in the distance, a small boat had just steered itself through the passage, making its way to who knows where. The memory is faded by now, but I like to think it was the Victoria Clipper on its twice-daily trip, carrying people up

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series. Read on for Valerie Hess’s reflection on living fully as who God created her to be. Breathe. Breathe again. Stop. Look. Listen. Pay attention. You are in liminal space. Breathe. This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf (see 2 Chronicles 20:17). These are words I say to myself when I find myself “ramping up” into anxiety or multi-tasking overdrive as I try to reign in internal chaos

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Callie J. Smith’s reflection Pausing with Whatever. The titles on my bookshelves don’t fully reveal what those shelves or their books actually hold. Because I have the habit of tucking notes into my books for safekeeping, I never quite know what will fall out when I open a book. Not a great organizational method for my correspondence, this tucking away of notes into books has no less developed into something quite meaningful for me. Opening books and