I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Lori Kochanski‘s reflection on the practice of loving the one in front of me. The woman lay dying, waiting for a blessing. The family is waiting to learn what it would take for their little girl to be baptized. The seeker needs to know if we have $400 to complete his asylum paper work. The secretary is waiting for the weekly announcements to be proofread. My husband is waiting for dinner. The teacher is waiting to teach the moves of the East Coast swing.

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Kate Kennington Steer’s reflection on “Project Wholeness.”  I am currently in the midst of trying to find ways to refine my activities.  I know I need to make an act of creativity the energy focus of my every day because I am positive that my healing will be found this way.  This healing may or may not include physical wellness, but what I am convinced of is that healing is ‘about’ wholeness.  My Inner Witness watches my heart expand every time I

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Nicole Keisler’s reflection titled Rhythms of Life. Everything here takes time. Even a simple task of washing dishes seem to grow into an event; part of a daily ritual that is as much a part of life here as the rising and setting of the sun. Make the not-so-long-walk to the “kitchen.”  Fill the basin. Carry the water. Wash the dishes. Rinse. Then rinse again. As I slowly wash off the remainders of yesterday morsels in the lean-to that is the scullery,

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Timothy Nickel’s reflection on dancing with God and each other as hospice chaplain. Silence and Space God is the silence behind all sound, ever present if we listen. God is the empty space amidst all objects, ever present if we behold. These truths inform us … we are always in God’s presence. Indeed we are God’s presence! If we listen for the silence behind all sound, there is God. If we behold the empty space amidst all objects, there is God.

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Kimberly Knowle-Zeller’s reflection on weeding for life. I’ve never been a gardener. But don’t say my mother never tried to cultivate a love of the dirt and growth and soil and plants. She tried her hardest. She lived in the garden and hoped her daughter would similarly follow suit. Yet, I’ve heard her repeat over to me, “You barely pulled one weed growing up.” Perhaps it was the hard work. Or the heat. Or my impatience. But I didn’t pull many weeds

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Jessica Curtis’ reflection on the breath prayer of presence – acceptance – love. Recently, while leading a workshop on creating a fulfilling life, I shared the very fulfilling experience I had last year of walking with my mother-in-law through the last days of her life. I hadn’t questioned how fulfilling this experience had been, yet I looked out at many puzzled faces trying to connect their idea of fulfillment with loss and death. It’s no surprise – we often associate fulfillment

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Laurie Klein’s reflection on using playful gestures for prayer. I wanted to play more. Ultimately, a childhood diversion beckoned. ‘Busy hands are happy hands,’ my mother always said. Raised to work hard at everything, I’ve been productive over the years but often at great personal cost. Excessive intensity wears a girl down. Other people seem to delight in each step toward their goals, a pleasure I find inspiring. And contagious. As a fellow monk in this dangerous, everyday-falling-around-our-ears-world, I want to