Being sustained on our path

Mystery is not much in favor these days. The notion that there are limits to what we can do, what we can know, limits to our dominion, does not sit well with kings and queens of the hill. Humility and reverence, we hear, are the attitudes of cowards. . . . By ‘mystery’ I do not mean simply the blank places on our maps. I mean the divine source — not a void, not a darkness, but an uncapturable fullness. We are sustained by processes and powers that we can neither fathom nor do without. I speak of that ground as holy because it is ultimate, it is what makes us possible, that shapes and upholds everything we see. The stories I am most interested in hearing, reading, and telling, are those that help us imagine our lives in relation to that ground.

Scott Russell Sanders, Staying Put: Making a Home in a Restless World

Nourishing ourselves: Being happy in the way things are

Blessed are the man and woman who have grown beyond their greed and have put an end to their hatred and no longer nourish illusions.

But they delight in the way things are and keep their hearts open, day and night.

They are like trees planted near flowing rivers which bear fruit when they are ready.

Their leaves will not fall or wither.

Everything they do will succeed. 

Psalm 1. Translation by Stephen Mitchell

Sunday Quote: Dropping into a calm inside

 

You who want knowledge,

Seek Oneness within

There you will find

the clear  mirror already waiting

Hadewijch II

Sunday Quote: Letting things pass

Spring comes with ten thousand flowers,

Autumn with the moon,

Summer with the cool breeze,

Winter with snow.

When your mind is not filled with unnecessary concerns,

that’s your best season.

Wu-Men, Chinese Chan Master, 1183–1260

Sunday Quote: Patience

Sometimes we have to allow space for things to become clear, or trust others even if we are not sure what is happening. Where do you have to exercise patience at this moment?

Consider the farmers who eagerly look for the rains in the fall and in the spring.

They patiently wait for the precious harvest to ripen. 

You, too, must be patient

James 5:7f

Where we place our energies

The quality in our life is related to where we place our attention. We go of all the things that are cluttering our minds, and free up space and time  to live each moment and each encounter with others more fully. This is true for each moment, but also sets the tone for the values which we choose, the direction we are going.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21

What is important is not what someone is

but what they are waiting for.

Not the events of life, but its possibilities.

Dorothee Solle