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Quote of the Day

Fold your wings, my soul,
those wings you had spread wide to soar
to the terrestrial peaks where light is
most ardent: it is for you to simply waith
the descent of the Fire —
supposing it to be willing to take possession of you.

~ by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

Linda DeGraf

Dear Friends ~ This past weekend we led an intergenerational retreat called "Children of the Earth." One activity was a story or guided meditation about an imaginary hike through the woods to a grove of gnarly oaks, tall poplars, and aromatic pines. At the base of each tree was a backpack with someone's name on it. Wild ones gave earthly gifts to add to the backpacks. Chickadee gave a seed to remind the children of their inner resourcefulness, bear gave mud tracks to remind them of strength and courage to defend those they love, owl a feather to remind them to be attentive to the mysterious wonders of the night. We all need a "backpack" of resources to help us on our path. Contemplation and action, pastoral care and prophetic witness, spirituality and service —we all need both so that the inner wisdom that sustains us and keeps us going ensures that the outer work comes from the heart and is done with love. Here are a few gentle reminders of gifts that lie within and some ways to nurture them.

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The stream of life that runs through the world

Rabindranath Tagore | July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

The same stream of life that runs through the world runs through my veins night and day and dances in rhythmic measure. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the Earth into the numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of flowers.

~ Rabindranath Tagore

Compassion for others

Pema Chodron | July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves.

~ Pema Chodron

The dream of my life

Mary Oliver | July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

The dream of my life
Is to lie down by a slow river
And stare at the light in the trees —
To learn something by being nothing
A little while but the rich
Lens of attention.

~ Mary Oliver

If we fall in love with creation

Hildegard of Bingen | July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.

~ Hildegard of Bingen

An ecological spirituality

Rosemary Radford Ruether | July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

An ecological spirituality needs to be built on three premises: the transience of selves, the living interdependency of all things, and the value of the personal in communion. Many spiritual traditions have emphasized the need to "let go of ego" but in ways that diminished the value of the person, undercutting particularly those, like women, who scarcely have been allowed individuated personhood at all. We need to "let go of the ego" in a different sense. We are called to affirm the integrity of our personal center of being, in mutuality with the personal centers of all other beings across species and, at the same time, accept the transience of these personal selves.

~from GAIA AND GOD by Rosemary Radford Ruether

Overdosed on data and underfed on the mysterious

Marv and Nancy Hiles | July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

We are overdosed on data and underfed on the mysterious. Our brains inflate while our souls wither. Constant interference by interpreting and explaining can distance us from life itself. God woos us into the wildness of unknowing where we are tempted by deeper senses.

~ from ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, by Marv and Nancy Hiles

Compassion is not a luxury

Roshi Joan Halifax | July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

We live in a time when science is validating what humans have known throughout the ages: that compassion is not a luxury; it is a necessity for our well-being, resilience, and survival.

~ Roshi Joan Halifax as quoted in EVERYDAY GRATITUDE

I seem a small child playing on a beach

Isaac Newton | July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

I know not how others see me, but to myself I seem a small child playing on a beach, delighted at the discovery of a shiny stone or shell, while an entire ocean of Truth lay undiscovered before my eyes.

~ Isaac Newton

All the small and lovely truths of life

Douglas Wood | July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

"First, my child," said Old Turtle, "remember that there are truths all around us, and within us. They twinkle in the night sky and bloom upon the earth. They fall upon us every day, silent as the snow and gentle as the rain. The people, clutching their one truth, forget that it is a part of all the small and lovely truths of life."

~ from OLD TURTLE AND THE BROKEN TRUTH by Douglas Wood

Strong trust in self and life even in the face of evidence to the contrary

Thomas Moore | July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

Faith is strong trust in self and life even in the face of evidence to the contrary. Like belief, it consists more in love than knowledge, or perhaps it is just that love takes precedence. It is intuitive. It is a power of the soul, not of the mind alone and based on the most subtle of perception. It is born and nurtured in the area of the third eye, the open heart, and the sensitivity of an ear tuned to mystery.

~ from THE SOUL'S RELIGION by Thomas Moore

Be kind, and wild, and disciplined, and absolutely generous

Martin Shaw | July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

Call out to the whole divine night for what you love. What you stand for. Earn your name. Be kind, and wild, and disciplined, and absolutely generous.

~ Martin Shaw

You cannot be freed without these virtues

Robert Adams | July-August 2019 (Vol. XXXII, No. 7)

Every enlightened person on the earth,
everyone who's been liberated has had these virtues.
You cannot be freed without them.
The first one is compassion.
The second one is humility.
And the third one is service.

~ from SILENCE OF THE HEART by Robert Adams