Archive by Category "Reflections"

“We need to stop.
Just stop.
Stop for a moment.
Before anybody
Says or does anything
That may hurt anyone else.” –Mattie Stepanek, excerpt from For Our World, written on September 11, 2001

“Stop for a moment” Mattie Stepanek asked us after so many watched the horrors filling our television screens on 9-11 twenty years ago. Such wisdom from an 11-year-old boy battling an awful disease.*

As we reflected on his poem, For Our World (see below), in our Sisters Contemplative Morning this past Saturday, I felt the power of his wise words for us today. So many are struggling to make sense of the discord in our country and are weary of the pandemic. It is understandable that we lash out at times. Yet, rarely is that ever helpful. And sometimes it is dangerous.

Eremos’ call to a life of contemplation helps me remember more often each passing year the power of stopping for a moment, for a breath, for a silent connection to divine wisdom. When I stop, I have a chance of being reminded:

“Our differences are unique treasures. We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts, to nurture, to offer, to accept.” — Mattie Stepanek

May you stop for a moment in times of frustration, anger, or fear to feel your connection to Source and to respond from that compassionate place.

*Mattie Stepanek passed away in 2004 after his battle with Dysautonomic Mitochondrial Myopathy. His poetry, wisdom, and story about his inspiring life can be found at www.mattieonline.com.

For Our World

by Mattie Stepanek
We need to stop.
Just stop.
Stop for a moment.
Before anybody
Says or does anything
That may hurt anyone else.
We need to be silent.
Just silent.
Silent for a moment.
Before we forever lose
The blessing of songs
That grow in our hearts.
We need to notice.
Just notice.
Notice for a moment.
Before the future slips away
Into ashes and dust of humility.
Stop, be silent, and notice.
In so many ways, we are the same.
Our differences are unique treasures.
We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts
To nurture, to offer, to accept.
We need to be.
Just be.
Be for a moment.
Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting,
Like children and lambs,
Never judging or vengeful
Like the judging and vengeful.
And now, let us pray,
Differently, yet together,
Before there is no earth, no life,
No chance for peace.

September 11, 2001

© Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek 1990 -2004
from Hope Through Heartsongs, Hyperion, 2002

Oh, Body

Oh body—
For 41 years
1,573 experts
with 14,355
combined years of training

to
cure
your
wounds.

Deep inside,

I
am
whole.

—Rachel Naomi Remen

If you’re feeling a desire to remember “deep inside I am whole”, then please join us this Saturday for Cheryl Pallant’s workshop, Somatic Writing. Your body has wisdom to share…

“Many times today I will cross over a threshold.
I hope I will catch a few of those times.
I need to remember that my life is, in fact,
a continuous series of thresholds:
from one moment to the next,
from one thought to the next,
from one action to the next.”

–Gunilla Norris, First Stanza of Crossing the Threshold

Gunilla Norris’ meditation reminds us that we cross so many thresholds every day, but we’re lucky if we’re fully present to any of them. And rituals are often forgotten even for the major thresholds of our lives.

“I have a thing for doors. I always think of them as a threshold to something new.” 
-Jada Pinkett Smith.

As my Jewish friends celebrate a new year this Rosh Hashanah, I’m inspired by this sacred holiday and actress Jada Pinkett Smith’s sense of doors as thresholds to pay attention to the many thresholds I cross daily. What thresholds can you honor with a sacred pause or moment of awareness this week?

May you open to the possibility of leaving behind what no longer serves you and welcoming in sweet blessings with each threshold you cross this week.

Crossing the Threshold

by Gunilla Norris

Many times today I will cross over a threshold.
I hope I will catch a few of those times.
I need to remember that my life is, in fact,
a continuous series of thresholds:
from one moment to the next,
from one thought to the next,
from one action to the next.

Help me appreciate how awesome this is.
How many are the chances to be really alive…
to be aware of the enormous dimension
we live within.

On the threshold the entire past
and the endless future
rush to meet one another.
They take hold of each other and laugh.
They are so happy to discover themselves
in the awareness of a human creature.
On the threshold the present breaks all boundaries.
It is convergence,
a fellowship with all time and space.
We find You there.
And we are found by You there.

Help me cross into the present moment–
into wonder, into Your grace:
that “now-place” where we all are,
unfolding as Your life moment by moment.

Let me live on the threshold.

–From Being Home, a Book of Meditations

Constantly Becoming

“The Book of Life and the Book of Death are open every day, and our name is written in one or the other of them at every moment, and then erased and written again the moment after that. We are constantly becoming, continuously redefining ourselves. This doesn’t just happen on Rosh Hashanah.” —Alan Lew, Source: RebekahLowin.com

“Your bare feet walk the earth reverently
for everything keeps crying,
Take off your shoes
The ground you stand on is holy
The ground of your being is holy.”
–Macrina Wiederkehr, First Stanza of Holy Ground

We may not be able to stop the suffering unfolding in our world, but we can expand our ability to offer compassion, kindness, and support by strengthening our sense of reverence.

As we bow often in honor of the divine blessings all around us, we refill our body, mind, and spirit with soul food. At least that is the sense I had when reading Macrina Wiederkehr’s poem Holy Ground (see below) this morning. I felt myself relaxing into it and shedding worries and concerns.

Whether the call to “take off your shoes” speaks to your weary need to rest, serves as an invitation to be present to the healing energy of the ground beneath your feet, or delivers a reminder of the Holy One’s gifts, there is so much to be found in the simple act of taking off your shoes with awareness.

May you heed the call to take off your shoes in whatever way is right for you. And may you receive the blessing of wonder at all the Holy One has given you this day.

Holy Ground

by Macrina Wiederkehr

My bare feet walk the earth reverently
For everything keeps crying,
Take off your shoes
The ground you stand on is holy
The ground of your being is holy.

When the wind sings through the pines
Like a breath of God
awakening you to the sacred present
calling your soul to new insights
Take off your shoes!

When the sun rises above your rooftop
Coloring your world with dawn
Be receptive to this awesome beauty
Put on your garment of adoration
Take off your shoes!

When the Red Maple drops its last leaf of summer
wearing its “burning bush” robes no longer
read between its barren branches, and
Take off your shoes!

When sorrow presses close to your heart
begging you to put your trust in God alone
filling you with a quiet knowing
that God’s hand is not too short to heal you
Take off your shoes!

When a new person comes into your life
like a mystery about to unfold
and you find yourself marveling over
the frailty and splendor of every human being
Take off your shoes!

When, during the wee hours of the night
You drive slowly into the new day
And the morning’s fog, like angel wings
Hovers mysteriously above you
Take off your shoes!

Take off your shoes of distraction
Take off your shoes of ignorance and blindness
Take off your shoes of hurry and worry
Take off anything that prevents you
from being a child of wonder.

Take off your shoes;
The ground you stand on is holy.
The ground you are is holy.

From Seasons of Your Heart: Prayers and Reflections, Revised and Expanded, by Macrina Wiederkehr (New York: HarperCollins, 1991).

The Messiness of Life

May you be blessed when you are caught up in the messiness of life,
when the daily directions begin to go this way and that
and nothing seems to follow the pattern you’ve set. 
At those times may you know the freedom
to let go of your plan
and, with a discerning heart,
to watch for God’s design in your life. 
May you trust in the chaos knowing
that it was from such that the world came to be. 
May the God of Entrustment bless you.
–Maxine Shonk, OP

“Climate change portends a revolution in the relationship between nature and civilization, but this is not a revolution in the more efficient allocation of global resources in the program of endless growth. It is a revolution of love. It is to know the forests as sacred again, and the mangroves and the rivers, the mountains and the reefs, each and every one. It is to love them for their own beingness, and not merely to protect them because of their climate benefits.” –Charles Eisenstein

“It is to love them for their own beingness,” says Charles Eisenstein about all of the elements of nature, as we grapple with the dramatic changes in the world’s climate.

Can you imagine how our lives would change if we could love every part of the earth and one another for “their own beingness”? I am reminded of author Fyodor Dostoevsky’s daunting invitation:

“Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.”
–Fyodor Dostoevsky

We may not know how to make a difference on the planet or in the thoughts and actions of people, but we can shift our focus to gazing, listening, and connecting with love. Of course most of us will fail often at this endeavor, but trying again and again is worth it. As Fyodor Dostoevsky reminds us of what we receive when we give this love lavishly to all: “you will perceive the divine mystery in things.”

May you become part of this revolution of love – however imperfectly – by seeking to love the world for its own beingness. And may you be rewarded with an ever-growing awareness of the divine mystery residing in all things.

P.S. The quote above by Charles Eisenstein, featured in the introduction of Christine Valters Paintner’s book Earth Our Original Monastery, caught my eye because of this past weekend’s workshop Behold and See. Thank you Elizabeth Ann Gates for reminding us of the power of our attention.

The Sanctuary

“It could be said that God’s foot is so vast that this entire earth is but a field on God’s toe, and all the forests in this world came from the same root of just a single hair of God’s. What then is not a sanctuary? Where then can I not kneel and pray at a shrine made holy by God’s presence?” –St. Catherine of Siena Source: Quoted in Love Poems from God by Daniel Ladinsky and featured in Earth Our Original Monastery by Christine Valters Paintner

We Are All Crew

“There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.”
~Marshall McLuhan  

A few years ago we invited the Eremos community to pause at Noon to pray or sing May We Dwell in the Heart for a week. I remember feeling more at peace each day, transformed by offering this blessing for myself and others.

With the devastation in Haiti, the chaos in Afghanistan, the rise of COVID-19 again, and the mask versus no mask argument tearing people apart as parents send their children back to school, it seems like a really good time to pause to remember to dwell in the heart.

And if you’re not immediately affected by any of this news, how wonderful that you may then have the capacity to share some peace and prayers for healing with others.

Sometimes the greatest gift we can give is our attention to blessings and prayers for others in acknowledgement that we see them and offer some of our light in solidarity and support. This Saturday Elizabeth Ann Gates invites us to Behold and See in a new way, with heightened awareness of where and how we offer the gift of our attention. We hope you’ll join us.

As we come together on Saturday to uplift and support each other in consciously directing our attention, we also invite you to take a moment to place your attention, prayers, and blessings on those whom you sense need it most.

May you remember to dwell in your heart and from that place of divine strength, may you share the blessing of peace with others.

Giving Our Attention

“When we give our attention and love to anything in life, it is a significant offering. We only have so much time. What we spend it on and who we give it to will determine the course of our life.” –Donna Goddard, Faith Photo Courtesy of Jack Shirley

May We Dwell In The Heart

May I dwell in the heart
May I be free of suffering
May I be healed
May I be whole
May I be at peace

May all beings dwell in the heart
May all be free of suffering
May all beings heal in the heart
May we all be at peace

May you dwell in the heart
May you be free of suffering
May you be healed
May you be whole
May you be at peace

May all beings dwell in the heart
May all be free of suffering
May all beings heal in the heart
May we all be at peace

   ~Robert Gass

May we all come together virtually to offer hope and healing to all hearts, minds, and souls. Thank you for being part of our contemplative community without walls.           

“Lean on me
When you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on…

For it won’t be long
Till I’m gonna need somebody to lean on.

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill
Those of your needs that you won’t let show.

–Bill Withers, excerpt from lyrics for Lean on Me

The lyrics of this classic song washed over me this past weekend, as I heard it on the radio. I thought of how many of us were struggling with anger, fear, judgment, and sorrow right now, perhaps needing a shoulder (or a tree) to lean on.

In his wisdom, Bill Withers shared one of the toughest challenges to receiving the support we need: “for no one can fill those of your needs that you won’t let show.” Knowing this community, we’ve each likely been the one people lean on frequently. Don’t forget to allow yourself to lean on another when you need to.

Whether it’s a friend to listen without judgment, a trusted therapist, a mighty tree to lean against, or times of prayerful conversation with the Divine, there are ways in these difficult days to receive the support we need.

May you blessed with the knowing that support in many forms is available to you any time you need it. And may you feel the presence of the Divine holding you when you rest in the silence.

An Offering of Peace

“…All my other faults are intact and fully apparent, but deep in my spirit’s core, I am a calm soul. What does that mean? According to the ancient tradition, it means I have something I can share. The peace I feel is not something I am to keep, but give away. So, please receive the one true thing of value I can give: this offering of peace for your life.”
  –Steven Charleston, Ladder To The Light: An Indigenous Elder’s Meditations On Hope And Courage (Eremos’ Fall 2021 Book Reflection. Click Here to Find Out More.)

–Photo Courtesy of Julie Bowman

The Trees

Do you think of them as decoration?

Think again.

Here are maples flashing.
And here are the oaks, holding on all winter
to their dry leaves.
And here are the pines that will never fail,
until death, the instruction to be green.
And here are the willows, the first
to pronounce a new year.

May I invite you to revise your thoughts about them?
Oh, Lord, how we are all for invention and
advancement!
But I think
it would do us good if we would think about
these brothers and sisters, quietly and deeply.

The trees, the trees, just holding on
to the old, holy ways.

                             ~Mary Oliver

When I lived in Seattle, my backyard ended with a hedge of blackberry bushes. I didn’t think much about it until my sister and her family arrived for a visit one August.

Turns out my nephew absolutely, positively loved blackberries and was so excited to find this treasure in my yard. While we were out without her one afternoon, Lori surprised him with a blackberry cobbler she made from those berries. To say Tim was thrilled was an understatement! Ever since then, this simple summer fruit makes me smile and I enjoy every berry I taste.

In his invitation above, Abraham Maslow dares us to even experience “ecstasy” from simple pleasures or “the basic goods of life.” I think of those blackberries and my young nephew’s reaction to them and know ecstasy is truly possible from things we take for granted. I dare you (and myself) to seek out this week the simple summer pleasures of life and embrace them as if they were gifts from God given solely for your delight.

May you notice the basic goods of summer all around you. And may you experience them with child-like wonder and awe.

Born Anew

“Each day the world is born anew for him who takes it rightly.”

–James Russell Lowell

Discernment

The trouble with the mind
is that it sees like a bird
but walks like a man.

And things at the surface
move fast, needing to be
gathered. While things
at center move slow,
needing to be
perceived.

What I mean is
if you want to see the
many birds, you can
gather them in a cage
and wonder why
they won’t fly.

Or you can go to
the wetlands, birding
in silence before
the sun comes up.

It’s the same
with the things
we love or think.

We can frame them
in pretty cages or follow
them into the wild meadow
till they stun us with the
spread of their magnificent
wings.

– Mark Nepo

“How we spend our days, of course, is how we spend our lives.”
–Annie Dillard

As the end of July approaches and the summer heat slows us down, this might be the perfect time to “take stock” of where you are in life.

Perhaps you had some specific goals or intentions for 2021 that need reviewing or updating. Or, maybe you just want the second half of the year to be better than the first half.

While we can’t control the pandemic or the surprises (good and challenging) that might show up, we can make small changes to encourage more peace, love, and joy in our lives. I think this wisdom from Jean Shinoda Bolen says it best:

“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.”

I invite you to grab an iced drink, a journal, a pen, and a comfortable seat somewhere to spend an hour or more this week taking stock of your life.

May you take the time to reflect upon your year so far and find the courage to make any necessary changes to welcome in more of what nourishes you.

Begin Again

“Taking a step in a different direction, I unravel the knot of past actions and old conclusions. It’s never too late to begin again.”
–Paula D’Arcy

All That Has Never Yet Been Spoken

I believe in all that has never yet been spoken.
I want to free what waits within me
so that what no one has dared to wish for
may for once spring clear
without my contriving.

If this is arrogant, God, forgive me,
but this is what I need to say.
May what I do flow from me like a river,
no forcing and no holding back,
the way it is with children.

Then in these swelling and ebbing currents,
these deepening tides moving out, returning,
I will sing you as no one ever has,

streaming through widening channels
into the open sea.

– Rainer Maria Rilke, translation by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy

While out walking early Sunday morning, I felt sadness about Austin moving back to a Stage 3 level of risk because of a rise in COVID-19 cases. After a few moments the book cover of Welcoming the Unwelcome by Pema Chödrön came into my awareness.

Facilitating one of four book groups about beloved Buddhist nun Chödrön’s wisdom June 2020, I found her invitation to welcome the unwelcome so helpful during the worst of the pandemic. No wonder it came back to me at this time.