We Honor the Sacred…
“Reverence for nature is one of the most direct paths to experience the sacred, one that deepens our innate bond with the Earth and all life. You don’t need to follow a script or go about it a certain way. Whatever you believe, approaching with respect, being present, feeling awe, and giving thanks can be gateways to the sacred.”
—Kai Siedenburg, Love Poems from the Earth
Whatever your faith tradition or name for God, this is a powerful time to honor the sacred. With Christians immersed in Holy Week, Muslims in the midst of the 30 days of Ramadan, and Jews preparing for Passover, beginning at sundown on Wednesday, there is a lot of energy focused on our relationship with the Holy One.
In her book Love Poems from the Earth, Kai Siedenburg shares 16 Ways to Deepen Your Connection with Nature. The quote above is from that section of the book and points the way to how we can not only honor nature, but each other and our chosen expression of love for the Divine:
“Whatever you believe, approaching with respect, being present, feeling awe, and giving thanks can be gateways to the sacred.”
The Oneness
The God who existed before any religion counts on you to make the oneness of the human family known and celebrated. ― Desmond Tutu
Peace Comes
“The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that its center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.”
― Black Elk
O Hidden Light
O Hidden Life, vibrant in every atom;
O Hidden Light, shining in every creature;
O Hidden Love, embracing all in Oneness;
May all who feel themselves as one with Thee,
Know they are therefore one with every other.
― Annie Besant
A Small Brush with Greatness
I had to wait
more than 50 years,
but it finally happened…
a wild bird
landed on me—
or more precisely,
on the edge
of my journal—
but since that journal
was on my lap,
and I had been
writing in it
for most of the morning,
it felt like
a part of me.
And when
the pine siskin
swooped down
from a nearby redwood,
landed on my journal,
and fixed me
with his
intense little gaze,
his bright black eyes
were only a foot away
from my brown ones.
So close!
So close!
Although
he was small in stature
(no more than five inches
from head to tail),
he was
a powerful presence,
a force of nature,
and I knew
in my bones
that I had
experienced
a brush with greatness.
—Kai Siedenburg, Love Poems from the Earth: An Invitation to an Intimate Connection with Nature. (Link takes you to Kai’s website, OurNatureConnection.com)
May you experience a small brush with greatness this week!
