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Daniel Ladinsky, light, love, Love Poems From God; Twelve Voices from the East and West, pray, quiet, soul, St. John of the Cross, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
On this feast of John of the Cross, great 16th century mystic and Doctor of the Church I offer two short poetic “words,” translated by Daniel Ladinsky in his book, Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West. Savor them as you will…
“My soul is a candle that burned away the veil; only the glorious duties of light I now have.”
“You might quiet the whole world for a second if you pray. And if you love, if you really love, our guns will wilt.”
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Psalm 19 proclaims today that the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork! Even just the daffodils in our yard – very prolific this year – are a lovely sign of this as they turn each day toward the sun and dance so freely in the breeze. Here’s a random quote from Catherine of Siena, translated by the poet Daniel Ladinsky, that gives me pause in the same manner as I prepare for the day.
Yesterday as I was trying to put together a prayer for an upcoming meeting, I came across a stunning entry in the book Love Poems from God by Daniel Ladinsky who has translated the work of “twelve sacred voices from East and West.” This short poem fairly shouted a message for today’s world, especially in light of the military display yesterday that preceded today’s opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Korea. Try to imagine what the resulting visual would be if we really took these words of John of the Cross to heart.
This morning I am feeling a desire to take life one moment at a time, conscious as I go through the day of all the people near and far who do not have the luxury of heated houses and blanketed beds in which they may choose to hunker down to wait out winter’s extreme behavior. This dangerous moment is deceptive in my neighborhood because the sun is streaming in and the sky is blue, whereas in many places the wind has caused storm surges from the beaches and lake effect snow measured in feet rather than inches to warn of possible catastrophe. My only warning of frostbite is looking out my bedroom window to see the wild dancing of the trees. Somehow this moment seems akin to the world situation where on some days there seems to be danger everywhere.
Here’s a word from St. Catherine of Siena, in translation by Daniel Ladinsky. It would be wonderful if those of us who are disappointed in any physical features that we have inherited are not of our liking. Hooray for all those content with their looks!
Last night as I was getting into bed the wind came up with a suddenness and ferocity that made me wonder if there was a storm to follow. It seemed to abate quickly though and did not disturb my sleep as sometimes happens. All seemed very quiet this morning as I woke saying, “not yet please,” grateful for the luxury of a slow start to the day with no perceptible weather event outside. I was mistaken, however, about the wind. While not singing, it seems eager to dance in the tall, straight maple tree just across the yard.
