Pondering: Catching Quiet

Photo by Ander Burdain at Unsplash.com

from "Passing Ordinary Time"
by Enuma Okoro

It is a hard art to learn,
catching quiet
by palms raised
cupped in
air shifting location
here and there like
trying to guess the pattern of falling leaves,
and hoping to feel the soft descent of moments
when silence slips
between sounds.

Pondering the Path: Enuma Okoro

These Thursday posts began at the first of the year as a response to a group of poets who wanted to share something of their Spiritual Journey. I've decided to call this my "Pondering the Path" post. I like that old fashioned word. Dictionary.com says to ponder is: 

       1. verb (used without object) to consider something deeply and thoroughly; meditate (often followed by over or upon)

       2.verb (used with object) to weigh carefully in the mind; consider thoughtfully. He pondered his next words thoroughly.

I hope you'll enjoy pondering these these thoughts with me.

*******************************************************************************

from Reluctant Pilgrim by Enuma Okoro

Note: After her father's death, Enuma began working her way back to God with the help of a spiritual advisor, Sister Catherine.

"What are some of those incarnate ways? How is God becoming flesh to you?" she prodded.

"In my friendships--how my girlfriend Sophie listens to me and creates a space for me to share how badly I'm doing whenever I need it. How my friend Nora, who lives in another state, lets me call her in the middle of the night because I can't sleep. And when I take my daily walk, I feel a little put back together at the end of it. It's almost like I'm figuring out that experiencing God's love and presence isn't just about my being obedient and performing well for God. It's simply God's love..."

"...It sounds like you are letting yourself come to God in a very real and present state of being. That can be a very helpful and sincere way to pray--communicating with God with the real emotions we are feeling and not with pat responses that we think God wants to hear from us...learning to pray and communicate from the present seat of your emotions is part of learning to be awake and aware of life around you and within you...lean into God's peace wherever you find it. God is consistent and generous and abundant in guiding us and in affirming his will with us."

"But what if I relax so much that I miss the signs?" I worried aloud.

"You will not miss the signs You might choose to ignore them, but you will not miss them. God is too generous with them."

Catching Bubbles

Poetry Friday is here!

Photo by Leo Rivas-Micoud.

Join me in a deep collective sigh. Inhale through your nose, slowly, deeply. Open your mouth and exhale with an audible sigh. Ahhhhhh. 

Better now?

Maybe, one more!  Ahhhhhhh.

And on to Poetry Friday. I am delighted to host the round up today, though how I managed to sign myself up on the day after I've returned from a week of teaching at a yoga training, I have no idea. Ahhhhhh. 

My offering today is a few excerpts from books I've been reading. 

from "Passing Ordinary Time"

by Enuma Okoro

It is a hard art to learn,

catching quiet

by palms raised

cupped in 

air shifting location

here and there like

trying to guess the pattern of falling leaves,

and hoping to feel

the soft descent of moments

when silence slips

between sounds.

--collected in At the Still Point by Sarah Arthur, Paraclete Press

from The Beautiful Word by Tama Fortner

Sometimes our prayer is simply a breath. We exhale the worries and wonders and restless wanderings of our lives and place them in God's hands. Then we inhale the provision and the promises and the peace of the Almighty. We let go to just be ...

from Walking on Water by Madeline L'Engle

Creativity opens us to revelation, and when our high creativity is lowered... so is our capacity to see angels, to walk on water, to talk with unicorns. In the act of creativity, the artist lets go the self control which he normally clings to, and is open to riding the wind. Something almost always happens to startle us during the act of creating, but not unless we let go our adult intellectual control and become as open as little children This does not mean to set aside or discard the intellect, but to understand that it is not to become a dictator for when it does we are closed off from revelation. 

Take a breath. 

Cup your hands. Catch a bubble. 

Become as a little child and ride the wind.