I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Amy Livingstone’s reflection on creating beauty in a broken world: “Finding beauty in a broken world is creating beauty in the world we find.” – Terry Tempest Williams Being present to beauty and the sacredness of the creation is the ground of my contemplative and creative life: a cobalt blue, handmade ceramic teacup; rainbows twinkling on a canvas from the crystal hanging in the window on a sunny day; reading poetry under the Sweet Gum tree; or a tiny spider weaving

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Mary Anne Dorner’s reflection on aging with grace: Dyeing to be young . . . Reflections on turning 70 . . . I tell myself I am not like other women…I don’t spend endless hours prissing and preening myself in front of a mirror…nor do I spend countless hours at a gym working out on exercise machines, or doing jazzersize routines to pulsating music, or spinning for a time on a static bicycle. No…I would rather spend my morning hours

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 the power of a word: word As the seasons shift again and the year moves into what I think of as its dying arc, I have been prompted yet again to return to the word I was given at the end of Advent last year: Welcome. Welcome is all ‘about’ answering the Spirit’s invitation to listen, live and love more deeply as I follow in the footsteps of the Way to and with Christ. It

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Jean Wise’s reflection on the power of silence: Rediscovering Silence I love words. I love taking sounds and syllables and dance with them on a page either in my journal or in my work as a writer. My ears tingle with the sound of words as they roll from my tongue in speaking or in song. Words have their benefits. They form a container for me to hold reason, a sense of control and clarity and dare I say, my ego. We

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Jodi Blazek Gehr’s the sacred pilgrimage of driving country roads: A Country Road Contemplative My country drives are a sacred experience, a contemplative, scenic journey through four counties of Nebraska.  Driving country roads has become a pilgrimage of its own as I travel to St. Benedict Center, a Benedictine retreat center and monastery seventy miles northwest of my home. Once or twice a month, I receive spiritual direction, participate in or lead retreats, attend Oblate meetings or pray with the monks. It’s where I go

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Susan Heffron Hajec’s reflection on living as steadfast love: Walking in Faithfulness “For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you.”  Psalm 26:3 I am an ordinary person who is immensely grateful for the gift of living an extraordinary life. At the age of 72, I recognize the steadfast lovebefore my eyes that has accompanied my journey all along the way. At my age, life’s responsibilities are simplified and I love that. But even during the frantic

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Michelle Chung’s reflection on recovering from perfectionism: Helpful Tips from the Recovering Perfectionist When I started practicing contemplative spirituality, I faced quite a culture shock. Being from the Silicon Valley, I was task oriented, perfectionistic, and goal driven… everything the contemplative ways are not. Where were the deadlines and checklists I’m so familiar with? It took quite a while for me to understand and adapt to this new and curious lifestyle. The contemplative traditions are more “organic”.  You can follow a plan