If there be anywhere on earth a lover of God who is always kept safe,
I know nothing of it, for it was not shown to me.
But this was shown:
that in falling and rising again we are always kept in the same love
Julian Of Norwich 1342 – 1416, Anchoress at the church of St Julian, Norwich
photo Jamie Campbell
The phoebe sits on her nest
Hour after hour,
Day after day,
Waiting for life to burst out
From under her warmth.
Can I weave a nest for silence,
Weave it out of listening,
Listening, Layer upon layer?
But one must first become small,
Nothing but a presence,
Attentive as a nesting bird,
Proffering no slightest wish,
No tendril of a wish
Toward anything that might happen
Or be given,
Only the warm, faithful waiting,
Contained in one’s smallness.
Beyond the question, the silence.
Before the answer, the silence.
May Sarton, Beyond the question, 1
The burdensome practice of judging brings annoyance and weariness.
What benefit can be derived from distinctions and separations?
Third Zen Patriarch
Too often we are not present to the beauty, love and grace
that brims within the ordinary moments of our lives.
Beauty is there, but we aren’t
Ron Rolheiser
Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow;
The same God who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and every day.
Either God will shield you from suffering or God will give you strength to bear it
Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and sufferings
St Francis de Sales
The first step in any letting go is ‘stepping back’– non-involvement. This initiates letting go by unhooking the mind from the topic that is stirring it up. It’s not a matter of avoiding or suppressing the topic, but of seeing it in a clear and spacious way. Non-involvement is about settling back into the present moment, relaxing into the way things are right now; it’s about letting go of the ‘shoulds’ and ‘shouldn’ts,’ the past, the future and the imaginary, and meeting things as they arise in the present. Letting go needs to be supported by a steady and focused mindfulness and clear comprehension. These provide the means whereby we can attend to what is happening now without trying to fix it. In this way, we check the feedback loop between behaviour and awareness, so that the mind finds a calm and steady place in the midst of changing feelings.
Ajahn Sucitto, Meditation, A Way of Awakening
