Food for the Soul | June 3rd, 2020

6/3/2020 

Dear Friends, 

As if we didn’t have enough to deal with already, the tragic events of the past week really brought my spirits down, and right now I can’t even tell you what I feel. My heart is raw with pain. All I know is that I need to go deep inside myself, into silence. I’m not hiding or escaping from anything but I need to find new energy by connecting to my Ground of Being. Maybe you feel the same way and would like to keep me company in my silence. 

A PRAYER   -   A PRACTICE   -   A POEM 

Prayer for Conscience and Courage  

Loving God, 
lead us beyond ourselves 
to care and protect, 
to nourish and shape, 
to challenge and energize 
both the life and the world 
You have given us. 

God of light and God of darkness, 
God of conscience and God of courage 
lead us through this time 
of spiritual confusion and public uncertainty.  

Lead us beyond fear, apathy and defensiveness 
to new hope in You and to hearts full of faith. 
Give us the conscience it takes 
to comprehend what we’re facing, 
to see what we’re looking at 
and to say what we see 
so that others, hearing us, 
may also brave the pressure that comes 
with being out of public step. 

Give us the courage we need 
to confront those things 
that compromise our consciences 
or threaten our integrity. 

Give us, most of all, 
the courage to follow those before us 
who challenged wrong and changed it, 
whatever the cost to themselves 

 (Joan Chittister) 

 A PRACTICE  

Silence 

Silence is at the very foundation of all reality. It is that out of which all being comes and to which all things return. Going deep into silence for short (or longer) periods of time is one of the best spiritual practices for dealing with stressful times. 

Find a place to sit comfortably and relax your body as much as possible. You could do an entire body scan and start with the feet, intentionally relaxing every muscle you feel, and gradually move up your body until you have reached the head. You could also just concentrate on relaxing a few key muscles such as those in the hands and fingers, the belly, the face. Now close your eyes, breathe naturally, and gently let all thoughts go. Enjoy the silence and the nothingness. Remain in this silence for as long as it feels comfortable to you. Then slowly return to your normal self.  

 A POEM 

When I am Wise 

Mary Gray 

When I am wise in the speech of grass, 
I forget the sound of words 
and walk into the bottomland 
and lie with my head on the ground 
and listen to what grass tells me 
about small places for wind to sing, 
about the labor of insects, 
about shadows dank with spice, 
and the friendliness of weeds. 

 When I am wise in the dance of grass, 
I forget the name and run 
into the rippling bottomland 
and lean against the silence which flows 
out of the crumpled mountains 
and rises through slick blades, pods, 
wheat stems, and curly shoots, 
and is carried by wind for miles 
from my outstretched hands.