I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Kathleen Deyer Bolduc’s reflection, “Beauty From the Ashes.” I walk around the south pasture of our retreat center grounds, waiting for a photograph to capture my attention. All I can see is the mess behind the barn. I don’t “see” the barn itself—this beautiful, 1880’s barn that we’ve restored for retreats, contemplation, and worship. The mess overshadows the beauty of this place called Cloudland. The burn pile, which is so big we’re afraid to light it. The

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Sonia Frontera’s reflection, “Communing with God in the face of illness inspired by Teresa of Avila.” Santa Teresa de Avila opened the door to the magical world of contemplation and, with it, offered me friendship with a God who is as loving as God is accessible. Regrettably, I didn’t go through that door until mid-life. I was barely 16 years old when Teresa’s path crossed mine and planted a seed in my soul that blossomed like a

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Nancy L. Agneberg’s reflection, “Release Busyness-Embrace Fullness.” One morning several years ago, while exercising at the gym, a friend, recently retired, shared that her daughter had tried to guilt her into setting aside her own plans to babysit yet again, “You’re not busy. I don’t see what the big deal is,” the daughter said to my friend, who was ambivalent about how to respond. “Should I drop what I have planned to do with my day when she

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Anne Knorr’s reflection, “The Gift of Pilgrimage.” Arriving in Porto, Portugal with carry-on luggage in tow and feeling the anticipation of the adventure awaiting mixed with the fatigue and grogginess from jetlag, my traveling companion and I wandered through the modern airport where large expanses of glass let the warm Portuguese sunlight fill the space and exposed metal beams arched across the ceiling above. We rolled our twin red GoLite bags across the sleek gray tiled floor in

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World Guest Post series from the community. Read on for Rita Simon’s reflection, “Finding Treasures in Aimlessness.” For where your treasure is, there your heart will be. ~ Matthew 6:21 Walk and touch peace every moment. Walk and touch happiness every moment. Each step brings a fresh breeze. Each step makes a flower bloom under your feet. ~Thich Nhat Hahn I grew up the eldest of nine children in a small Wisconsin town. My mother did not drive until she finally got her license at age 60,

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Ted Witham’s reflection “Knocked for Six.” In the Australian idiom, I was ‘knocked for six’ last year by my first encounter with depression and anxiety. The mental illness shook me from my center. I closed down emotionally and physically, and only after six or eight weeks of gentle care from physician and psychiatrist I began again to find some equilibrium. One of my practices that was ‘knocked for six’ was my decades-long engagement with the Scriptures through

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Pat Butler’s reflection, “The Secret Place Studio.”  “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”—Matthew 6:6 Just as an artist needs a quiet studio to practice his or her discipline, a monk in the world needs a quiet studio to pray. We might call it a cell or prayer closet; I prefer to think