Next In-person walk: Saturday, January 11, 9 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Covenant Presbyterian Church back parking, 2222 at Mo-Pac, Austin
Next Zoom discussion: January 11, 2024 10:30 AM Central Time (til 11:30)
Walk In: Losing Our Lives by Letting Go of Trying to Outrun Suffering
Accepting This
By Mark Nepo
Yes, it is true. I confess,
I have thought great thoughts,
and sung great songs—all of it
rehearsal for the majesty
of being held.
The dream is awakened
when thinking I love you
and life begins
when saying I love you
and joy moves like blood
when embracing others with love.
My efforts now turn
from trying to outrun suffering
to accepting love wherever
I can find it.
Stripped of causes and plans
and things to strive for,
I have discovered everything
I could need or ask for
is right here—
in flawed abundance. We cannot eliminate hunger,
but we can feed each other.
We cannot eliminate loneliness,
but we can hold each other.
We cannot eliminate pain,
but we can live a life
of compassion.
Ultimately,
we are small living things
awakened in the stream,
not gods who carve out rivers.
Like human fish,
we are asked to experience
meaning in the life that moves
through the gill of our heart.
There is nothing to do
and nowhere to go.
Accepting this,
we can do everything
and go anywhere.
Questions:
What suffering are you trying to outrun?
What causes, plans, or striving is the Spirit inviting you to let go?
Where are you trying to be a god who carves out rivers rather than a small living being?
Center: Meeting the Holy One in Blessing the YOU That is Right Now
Blessing the House of the Heart
By Jan Richardson
If you could see
how this blessing
shimmers inside you,
you would never wonder
whether there will be
light enough,
time enough,
room enough for you. If you could see
the way this blessing
has inscribed itself
on every wall
of your heart,
writing its shining line
across every doorway,
tracing the edge
of every window
and table
and hall—
if you could see this,
you would never question
where home is
or whether it has
a welcome for you. This blessing wishes
to give you
a glimpse.
It will not tell you
it has been waiting.
It will not tell you
it has been keeping watch.
It would not
want you to know
just how long
it has been holding
this quiet vigil
for you.
It simply wants you
to see what it sees,
wants you to know
what it knows—
how this blessing
already blazes in you,
illuminating every corner
of your broken
and beautiful heart.
Jan Richardson
from The Cure for Sorrow
Questions:
Imagine for a moment the blessing of God being inscribed on every wall of your heart. Trace in your mind each auricle and ventricle and attached vessel shimmering with the light of God. Imagine every broken and beautiful space filled with the light of God’s love. Dwell in this space for a moment, seeking to create a sense of home for all you are and are NOT within your own being.
Walk Out: Saving Our Lives by Welcoming the New Year as a House
The Year as a House
By Jan Richardson
Think of the year
as a house:
door flung wide
in welcome,
threshold swept
and waiting,
a graced spaciousness
opening and offering itself
to you.
Let it be blessed
in every room.
Let it be hallowed
in every corner.
Let every nook
be a refuge
and every object
set to holy use.
Let it be here
that safety will rest.
Let it be here
that health will make its home.
Let it be here
that peace will show its face.
Let it be here
that love will find its way.
Here
let the weary come
let the aching come
let the lost come
let the sorrowing come.
Let it be here
that health will make its home.
Let it be here
that peace will show its face.
Let it be here
that love will find its way.
Here
let the weary come
let the aching come
let the lost come
let the sorrowing come.
Here
let them find their rest
and let them find their soothing
and let them find their place
and let them find their delight.
And may it be
in this house of a year
that the seasons will spin in beauty,
and may it be
in these turning days
that time will spiral with joy.
And may it be
that its rooms will fill
with ordinary grace
and light spill from every window
to welcome the stranger home.
-Jan Richardson
© janrichardsonimages.com
Questions:
Are you willing to bless the next year of your life as it comes to you right now?
Are there particular rooms within that house you would like to extend a new sense of blessing toward?
Are there long neglected or rejected spaces to be hallowed and offered a breath of peace?
Where in this house of your life and next year do you find spiraling joy or ordinary grace or light?
