Tags
Henry David Thoreau, Jesus, Macrina Wiederkehr, mindfulness, morning prayer, Rumi, stay awake, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
Yesterday I made my way along four hours of beautiful New York and Vermont highways, bowing inwardly to the majesty of mountains, trying not to be disappointed that there is no autumn color yet on the trees. It is, after all, still September. I sit this morning in the familiar gathering place aptly named Hallelujah Farm, ready or not to begin the annual meeting when we are privileged to recommend grants that will assist worthy organizations to continue the work of spreading wisdom – so needed in our world today. This will be the last of these privileged granting events as our dear friend’s money has been generously distributed over the past five years and is now doing its work. Helen Daly was a delightful, determined, dedicated woman who passed from this world too early for our liking but whose surrender was a lesson to us all. Her vision will continue to be manifested in the work of more people than she could have imagined in projects that continue to be birthed in ripples all over our country.
As we begin this time, our gratitude for Helen and for those who are doing the work that she so valued is great. Soon we will gather for morning prayer and I will read a reminder from Macrina Wiederkehr which seems appropriate for anyone willing to accept the challenge of morning. Please join us.
What will this day be like? Will I choose to walk through the hours mindfully? “To affect the quality of the day is the highest of arts,” Henry David Thoreau tells us. And the mystical poet Jalaluddin Rumi reminds us, “The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you; don’t go back to sleep.” Jesus says, “Stay awake.”
On the opening page of chapter 2 of her Seven Sacred Pauses, Macrina Wiederkehr writes about greeting the dawn. Toward the end of her reflection she offers words more meaningful than any I could string together as guidance for this day.
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 