Uncrowd My Heart…

“Uncrowd my heart, O God,
until silence speaks
in your still, small voice.
Turn me from the hearing of words,
and the making of words,
and the confusion of much speaking,
to listening,
waiting,
stillness,
silence.” –Esther de Waal

“Uncrowd my heart” feels like the perfect prayer when too much is going on, even good things. The beauty is these pauses for silence to uncrowd our hearts don’t have to be long in order to make a difference.

I imagine the Holy One pulling out random thoughts and unnecessary worries to make room for divine guidance in times of struggle.

Whatever may be troubling you about your life, loved ones, or the world, I invite you to rest in the silence, envisioning your heart and mind being cleared of the fears, concerns, and worries crowding out the loving eternal presence of the Divine.

May you be blessed with a spacious heart and time to listen and wait in stillness and silence for the wisdom you need.

Perpetual Stillness

Clouds race by
overhead,
propelled by
a mighty river of air.

Hawks swoop
and soar,
skillfully riding
the swift current.

Trees dance
wildly,
branches tossed
by the gale.

A boundless stream
of sunlight hurtles
through the cosmos
at the speed of light,

and planet Earth
spins through space
at a dizzying rate.

And yet,
at the center
of this vast swirl
of perpetual motion,

there is
an infinite
and abiding
stillness.
–Kai Siedenburg, author of Poems of Earth and Spirit: 70 Poems and 40 Practices to Deepen Your Connection with Nature

Ancient Language

If you stand at the edge of the forest
and stare into it
every tree at the edge will blow a little extra
oxygen toward you

It has been proven
Leaves have admitted it

The pines I have known
have been especially candid

One said
that all breath in this world
is roped together

that breathing is
the most ancient language.

–Hannah Stephenson, from Poetry of Presence, Grayson Books 2017

May the wildfires end and the trees come back better and stronger than before. Prayers of gratitude to all of the firefighters in the West and all those supporting their efforts.