A Summer to Ponder

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This summer is going to look different this year. But let’s take our cue from Mary Oliver’s “Summer Day”. This delicious poem reminds us that all of life can be wild with prayerful repose if we just stop and take notice of the glory radiating all around.

It’s a Love-soaked world and we’re being drenched every day.

Join me in gazing (and being gazed at) by animating force of Life and Love that is pulsing in every living thing, and all is gift…if we have eyes to see.

Start by taking time to read and meditate on this poem.

The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

—Mary Oliver

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Trust in the Slow Work of God

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TRUST IN THE SLOW WORK OF GOD 

We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.

We should like to skip the intermediate stages.

We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.

And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—

and that it may take a very long time. 

And so I think it is with you; your ideas mature gradually—

let them grow, let them shape themselves, without undue haste.

Don’t try to force them on, as though you could be today what time

(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will)

will make of you tomorrow. 

Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be.

Give God the benefit of believing that the Divine hand is leading you,

and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.” 

― Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 

Loving Kindness Meditation of Reverence

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A Loving Kindness Meditation by Christa Hesselink

All that was, all that is, and all that is to come: it is created, held, and sustained

by unending and perfect Love.

 

I am created and held and sustained by unending and perfect Love.

 

Great Lover of my soul – I receive this love for myself today.

 

Great Lover of my soul – I extend this love to my family and friends.

 

Great Lover of my soul – I extend this love to the people in this room.

 

Great Lover of my soul – I extend this love each person in my acquaintance.

 

Great Lover of my soul – I extend this love to people in my life who I find difficult

to love.

 

Great Lover of my soul – I extend this love to all of humanity – to the young and

the old - to those who look like me and those who don’t – to those who are very

similar to me in language, religion, and an understanding of things, and for those who are very different from me.

 

Great Lover of my soul – I extend this love to all created things you’ve made on

earth, our home: the animals, birds, insects, the oceans teaming with life, and

plants from the smallest weed to the giant tree.

 

Great Lover of my soul – I extend this love to all things you’ve created unseen

and too great for me to understand – the stars and moons, suns and planets,

black holes, dark matter and galaxies in this expanding universe of which I am

apart.

 

All that was, all that is, and all that is to come: it is created, held, and sustained

by unending and perfect Love.

 

We are all created, and held, and sustained by this unending and perfect Love.

Lament Practice

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The following is a practice for you to try on your own or with a group of people - it has 3 parts.

DISTRESS (and Complaint)

Take time to express your distress and complaint. Here are a few you might want to use:

  • I am sad. (Be very specific about what is making you sad).

  • I’m afraid. (Take time to tap into the fear you feel and articulate why you are afraid).

  • I’m angry and frustrated. (Don't hold back. What is frustrating you and bringing you to anger?)

  • I am tired. (What is wearing you out? How would you clearly describe your fatigue?)

  • I’m at the end of my rope. (Take a moment and consider why you feel hopeless, helpless, and powerless).

As you bring your complaint and distress forward, notice the quality of the energy in your body. Is there tightness, or a clenching rising within you? Let it be there.

REQUEST (and Appeal)

Take time to express your requests and appeals. If you are a person of faith, this is an opportunity to direct these needs to God. If not, perhaps you want to consider directing your needs to the source of your life, however you may understand that.

Here are a few you might want to use:

  • How long will I be here? Help me to get keep my head above water!

  • What should I do? I need wisdom and patience right now.

  • How can I keep going? Help me to have the patience and self-control to manage this time.

  • What’s coming next? I need love to guide me through all the changes to come

  • How can I keep my cool? Help me to forgive others and myself in them.

As you bring your request and appeals forward, has the quality of the energy in your body changed. How does it feel similar and different from the distress/complaint? Let it be there.

REST (Trust and Surrender)

A Lament practice doesn’t leave us with our distress and requests. We are invited to move into a new posture of surrender and trust.

  • While I feel all my sadness, may I also stay open to the good and beautiful given to me.

  • While I feel all my fear may I also stay open to the good and beautiful given to me.

  • While I feel all my anger, may I also stay open to the good and beautiful given to me.

  • While I feel all my fatigue, may I also stay open to the good and beautiful given to me.

  • While I hold the end of my rope, may I also grab onto the good and beautiful given to me.

*As you sit with your heart inclined towards trust and surrender, how has the quality of the energy in your body changed? How does it feel similar and different from the distress/complaint and request/appeal? Let it be there.

All of our emotions belong.

A Blessing Inspired by Mary Oliver's poem, "Wild Geese"

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A Blessing Inspired by Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese”

May we have ears to hear the voice of Love coming to us in unexpected ways.

 

May we be gentle with ourselves and each other when we feel like we are riding a wave that could drown us.

 

May we allow our softness and vulnerability to rise, and

 

May we pay attention to what truth it has to tell us.

 

May we share our despair and listen deeply to the despair of others.

 

May we notice the rhythms of grace found in all living things, and receive it all as gift.

 

May we admit our loneliness, our survivor’s guilt, our helplessness, and our overwhelm, while also holding the hope and the truth that somehow everyone and everything belongs in the family of things.

 

May we have eyes to see the profound reality unfolding and the patience to endure it’s revealing.

 

May we be ones who hark like the wild geese, shouting to each other with love and care, that each of us have needs and are needed, and we are in this together.

 

Mary Oliver, a great American poet treasured us with jewels and gems, one of which is her very popular “Wild Geese”. This poem was first seen in her 1986 published work, “Mary Oliver’s Dream Work”.

Check out this book full of some of her more popular work.



Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

Uou only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

An Earth Hour Activity for Earth's Heart and Ours

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Earth Hour is an invitation to stand in solidarity with our home - planet earth - by reducing our use of electricity for one hour. It’s designed to help raise OUR awareness and the particular part WE each play for the health of the planet.

Even with the experience of a global pandemic, we need constant reminders of our fragility and the crisis this is upon us.

ENERGY ALWAYS FOLLOWS OUR ATTENTION.

Where our attention is, there our energy follows.

This is an important teaching in all of the perennial traditions.

What if we raise our awareness of the abundance around us and not just our scarcity. Can we fall in love with the natural world in ever-deepening ways? Can we use this hour to bring our attention to how the earth gifts us every day, and see how our energy follows?

ENERGY ALWAYS FOLLOWS OUR ATTENTION.

Where our attention is, there our energy follows.

Turning off our lights and electronics for one hour is not just a collective act of solidarity but it can be a reminder of the abundance and resiliency we have, and our earth has.

There has never been a more important time to support the health, vitality, and resiliency within ourselves and for our planet.

They are intrinsically connected, and we must slow down so we SEE this Reality with fresh attention and energy.

ENERGY ALWAYS FOLLOWS OUR ATTENTION.

Where our attention is, there our energy follows.

How to Spend Your Earth Hour

  1. Whether you are on your own, or with a few friends and family, consider the hour you want to give to this. It’s less about the exact “8:30pm hour”, and more about how you can bring your attention and heart to abundance.

  2. Turn off the lights/electronics and light some candles.

  3. Consider doing some of all of the following activities:

    • Read the Poem called EARTH HOUR 2020 by Greg Kennedy SJ (below and in the PDF)

    • Go deeper with this poem and notice which words, phrases, images pop out to you the most? How does it make you feel? What is your soul saying to you? Take your time with this. There is no rush.

    • Consider going outside and finding 3 rocks. Then, turn those three rocks into 3 prayers or hopes for others and the planet. Bring the things that are beating hardest in your heart right now.

    • You may also want to pull out some crayons, markers, or something to create a picture. Use any of these ideas:

      • Create a portrait of the beauty of the planet from your perspective

      • Create a “Greeting Card” for the planet. You may want to pick an animal or a tree to focus your attention

      • Draw a circle as if it’s a container to hold your visual/pictorial prayers for the planet. Then draw your prayers inside the circle.

    • If you’ve decided to listen to some music, why not play and listen to The Four Seasons by Vivaldi (find it on Spotify). You’ll likely recognize some of the melodies, but slow yourself down and really listen.

    • If Vivaldi isn’t your cup of tea, why not tune into SoulPlay’s Spotify “Slow-Down” Playlist. Break for a bit, slow down, and wake up to how the music is making your feel.

Learn more about the history of Earth Hour.

Earth Hour 2020

by Greg Kennedy SJ

 

in the darkness

remember

be it but an hour

remember

the land

you were taken out of

remember?

is the land

you’ll be put into

so please don’t confuse the signs

Exodus does not read EXIT

remember

there is no away

for a heart as plain as prairie

the freedom brewing

on the horizon

must never be forgotten

remember

most deserts you wander

expand to the pace

of your firmer steps

determined to show

just how much love

you can endure.

 

Used with permission. I’m grateful for Greg’s work and friendship!

**You can find a whole book of Greg’s poem’s just released: Reupholstered Psalms: Ancient Songs Sung New

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“Reupholstered Psalms sings a new song to the Lord out of the absurdity and beauty of the modern world. They are prayers that, leaning forward into the winds of change raging today, reach back into the hearts of our ancestors of faith.”

Lunar Practice

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“We are all like the bright moon, we still have our darker side.”
— Khalil Gibran
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A Practice with The Moon

Take a moment to consider how familiar you are with the cycles of the moon. Did you know what cycle the moon is in right now? If not, why do you think that is?

Did you know that every month's full moon has a name? For example, March’s Full Moon is often known as the “Worm Moon” because the earth is starting to come alive, verdant with energy and life - it’s that the best?! The April Full Moon is often known as the “Pink Moon” from the blossoms of flowering trees, shrubs, and ground cover, the May moon is the flower moon, and the June moon heralds strawberries in their prime - the June Strawberry moon! Learn more about the beautiful indigenous-given names of the Full Moons here.

If you were to name the full moon of your life right now, what would you name it and why?

Every human being will have the same experience of the moon tonight, tomorrow night, and the next. Consider that for a moment? We are connected! When you look at the moon, can you bring to mind people in other parts of the world, and stand in solidarity?

“When you see the EArth from the moon, you don’t see any divisions there of nations or states. This might be he symbol, really, for the new mythology to come.”
— Joseph Campbell

The New Moon is when the moon is dark and hidden from sight.

It’s as if something is waiting to grow into fullness. What might be wanting to grow into fullness in you?

Is there a project, a personal value, a desire, a grief, a conversation that remains hidden in you today, but can grow as it’s supposed to, over these next 2 weeks? What do you sense that is? What can you do to allow it to wax towards maturity?

And the new moon always waxes toward the Full Moon.

Perhaps it can be a reminder or celebration of what has ripened and come to fruition in your own life.

Take time to celebrate and remember what was required to get there; both the letting go of something old, and the allowing of the new to be born in you.

As the Full Moon wanes back to an un-illuminated state, perhaps you can take time to consider what needs to be let go of in your life to make room for the next cycle of growth.

What must you allow, surrender, drop, limit, consent to, that will open up space to flourish for the coming season?

What “two-week-on-two-week-off” rhythm would be helpful to adopt into your own life at this time? In other words, can you bring a routine into your monthly calendar where half of the month you are more present to what is growing and becoming brighter in your life, and the other half where are you are more present to the aspects of your life where you’re being invited to let go?

A Blessing for These Uncertain Times

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Anyone need this today?

Regardless of your faith affiliation, let this be a blessing to speak over yourself and your loved ones as we trust the Source that animates life and love holds us all.

This is adapted from the Jewish and Christian sacred scripture of Isaiah 43:2.

Prayer of St. Patrick Meditation

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Need a prayer of grounding? The Prayer of St. Patrick might be what you’re looking for.

Here's just a slice of it - ...and if "Christ" language is a bit triggering or confusing (p.s. - it's not Jesus' last name!), one of the ways to think about this word is the "energy of Love", the "original Creator and Creativity that animates all of life", the "One who knows and loves my essence."⠀
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Why not go for a walk and consider that you are surrounded by Presence as you pay attention to the present moment while you pray this prayer.⠀You may even want to gesture by holding a rock…(before me, behind me, to my left, to my right, etc.)
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"I arise...⠀
Christ with me,⠀
Christ before me,⠀
Christ behind me,⠀
Christ in me,⠀
Christ beneath me,⠀
Christ above me,⠀
Christ on my right,⠀
Christ on my left,⠀
Christ when I lie down,⠀
Christ when I sit down,⠀
Christ when I arise,..."⠀
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Join millions of others now and through the ages with this prayer.⠀
Get the full version with a simple google search, "Prayer of St. Patrick".

What are the trees saying to you?

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Consider this poem by Mary Oliver.

WHEN I AM AMONG THE TREES

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.


I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.


Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

When days are uncertain, and you notice emotions, tension, patterns, and thoughts, try going out for a walk, and consider what that Voice within wants you to hear.

If it doesn’t sound like love; if it doesn’t have the quality of gentleness; if it doesn’t invite some self-compassion; then it isn’t a voice worth listening to. For many, the loving voice is the voice of God…and sometimes it speaks through the trees.