Ever Changing…

“The places and people that make our world are [ever] changing; the present slips from us with growing rapidity, but the birds are ever with us.” –Frank M. Chapman (Source: Audubon 2021 Calendar).

Frank Chapman spoke about the rapid pace of change and the comfort he took in nature, especially birds, in National Geographic magazine in 1913.

Over 100 years later his words give me hope. So much darkness the world has gone through and come out of in that time – with birds in so many glorious forms accompanying us, offering delight and wonder when we paused to watch and listen.

Before the holiday season kicks into high gear next week, I invite you to pause for an hour or two to “root” yourself in the rhythms of the natural world. Whether it’s being among birds, trees, or squirrels or gazing at the moon one evening, let nature hold you through this holiday season. And sometime during a carved out sacred hour, you might acknowledge all of the changes you’ve come through and witnessed this past year.

May you become present to the gift of nature and your own inner strength to guide you through this ever-changing world.

A Celtic Prayer

God to enfold me,
God to surround me,
God in my speaking,
God in my thinking.

God in my sleeping,
God in my waking,
God in my watching,
God in my hoping.

God in my life,
God in my lips,
God in my soul,
God in my heart.

God in my sufficing,
God in my slumber,
God in mine ever-living soul,
God in mine eternity.
–Carmina Gadelica III, edited by Alexander Carmichael.*

*Featured in Listening For The Heartbeat of God: A Celtic Spirituality by J. Philip Newell.