I remember the day that the wind changed direction and the smoke from the fire was so frighteningly strong that it woke me and my lungs ached.
Over the years, as I watched the news about the fires in the Amazon, Uruguay, Brazil and now the fires in Canada with smoke from those fires being carried by the wind to the United States and even Norway, global concerns about life-destroying fires in general and the impact on climate change and on peoples’ lives was, and is, being stoked.
And not just physical fires.
There is a lot of soul-destroying fire happening in today’s world … leaders and wanna-be leaders whose focus is self-adoration, self-promotion rather than the people … supporters of such leaders who mindlessly follow and don’t stand up to the immorality, lies, dangerous rhetoric and don’t speak up for democracy, justice, compassion … tropical storms and other dangerous weather concerns becoming more and more frequent and stronger … the seemingly never-ending war in Ukraine. The life-destroying and soul-destroying list goes on.
What is the response to these destructive fires? Many no longer read or watch the news because they find it too stressful and their sense of helplessness is reinforced. But, does ignoring the news help reduce the soul-destruction?
If putting a lid on a physical garbage can, filled with festering garbage, only hides the putrid smell, can a similar response happen in putting a lid on an emotional garbage can filled with festering garbage of anger and hatred and fear and resentment and racism and me-me-me-ism?
Tears fall from my eyes and tears cover my heart and my soul as I realize that soul-destroying fires really exist and that lately, they seem to be moving even more quickly. What can I, or others, do?
I find that the tears, the sense of helplessness is diminished by being aware of what is happening, not by ignoring the news … by naming the fears and not letting them fester … by not closing my eyes to the realities … by not stifling conversation about what is happening … by being open to letting Light in, so that healing can begin for this world we inhabit and love.
May every tear shed, every prayer said, every thought expressed, every peaceful protest, every vote count.
May all do what we can to become informed about issues and work to becoming a world of people who listen to the pain beneath the words, who recognize fascism and work for democracy, and who focus on the corporate ‘needs’ of society rather than their individual ‘wants’. It is time to put out the fires that bring body, mind and soul-destruction to people and this planet.
Okay, I admit it. I’m a Broadway musical fan and a Tony Awards fan and the Tony Awards are almost here! Sunday night the popcorn maker will come out, the phone won’t get answered and I’ll be glued to the tv, waiting for snippets of Broadway musicals as the Tony Awards salute excellence in Broadway theatre and the gift of music!
Why title this Soulistry reflection “A Poohian ‘Theology’ of Music”? It’s because music speaks to my soul – nourishes my soul – delights my soul … connects me to the Divine.
Without a doubt, if I were ever able to make a return visit to New York City or London, I would love, love, love to get tickets for some musicals. But as that’s unlikely to happen, Sunday night will do – a night in front of the tv watching the musical performances on the Tony Awards show.
What’s with the “Poohian” in the title? It’s because Winnie the Pooh once said: “Poetry and Hums aren’t things which you get. They’re things which get you. All you have to do is go where they can find you.” (A.A.Milne author of “Winnie the Pooh”) The “poetry and hums” get to us! And when they do, the body expresses emotions being experienced in the soul when fingers rap out a rhythm, toes tap a beat, heads nod, larynx hums a tune or sings out loud.
When the “poetry and hums” get to us, healing can happen. Feelings of sorrow, anger, frustration, fear, rage, passion, grief and even boredom can be relieved. Courage can be awakened. Love, passion, happiness and devotion can be nurtured. Our physical body can become stimulated with increasing blood flow, speed of circulation, muscular energy, and metabolism. And we can be connected with the Source of All Life in a unique way.
Music is gift. Music gifts us with the ability to reflect, remember, and become re-created. Maybe it’s the combined right/left brain activity that takes place when we sing, play instruments or listen to music on the radio, tv, CD’s, stereo or at a concert. Maybe it’s the soul-soaring as hymns are sung, psalms are chanted, sung prayers are offered. Maybe it’s the unique embodiment of art, wisdom, theology and emotional release in word and song that captures our heart and mind. Whatever it is, music appeals to our soul and senses.
Society reminds us that music is a wonderful part of our existence: music awakens astronauts (and many of us) first thing in the morning … music entertains at concerts … music enriches movie experiences … music is often played in stores, elevators, airplanes and even restaurants … and music has an endurance that is retained in the deepest recesses of memory.
Those who have worked with stroke victims and neurological disorders know that people who have forgotten so much (even the names of their partner, children) have been known to play music on the piano, hum the melody of beloved hymns, toe-tap to remembered songs, and respond to meditative choruses.
One of the greatest conductors of all time, Leopold Stokowski, once said that “there are regions so elusive in our life of feeling that only music can express such intangible and sublime visions of beauty.”
There is no doubt that music awakens the soul and that an inner part of ourselves connects directly to the Holy Other whether that music be Rock, Country, Classical, Reggae, Chamber Music, Jazz, Latin, Folk, Celtic, Gospel, Spa Music, Country, Blues, John Philip Sousa marches, Gregorian chant, Chuck Berry, Celine Dion, Paul Anka, Barbra Streisand … whether it be penny whistle, French horn, bass, bagpipe, flute, bassoon, cello, comb and tissue paper or even one’s own whistling!
Music can make us dance and skip, move us to tears, and encourage us to be as happy as Winnie the Pooh on a fine summer’s morn! It’s true, Pooh, music can be a wonderful bridge between the body and soul. “All you have to do is go where they can find you.”
May we make time to go where music can find us. And may we remember that “music gives life to everything” and give voice to the “poetry and hums” that nurture and touch our soul beyond cognitive understanding.
Quote “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.”
Author Confucius (551 – 479 BCE) was a Chinese philosopher whose teaching and philosophy deeply influenced Eastern thought and his thoughts developed into a system known today as Confucianism. He was a strong proponent of building a harmonious society following the well-known philosophy that people ‘do not do to others what they do not want done to themselves’ – a very early “Golden Rule.”
Soul-Questions * In your journal, reflect on the moments of ‘rising’ in your life. Note what you did to bring about that resurrection moment.
*What were the results?
*Consider a time in your life when stresses were such that you became sad, depressed, isolated, distanced from family/support groups/friends and did *not* rise. What consequences were there from that time of ‘rising’?
*Have you ever experienced feelings of guilt at times when you were unable to rise after falling? Journal about those feelings and consider how you might handle such feelings should similar occasions arise in the future
*Reflect on one of the ‘rising’ moments in your life in your journal, noting – your feelings – any consequences – what prompted you to rise
*Reflect on the strength, encouragement, energy, healing you received when you picked yourself up from a difficult time in your life.
The tulip is from my garden and is one of the ones I brought back from the Netherlands. It’s already beginning to wilt – will die – but then next spring, it will “rise again”. The cycle of life.
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How to use “Soulistry Soul-Questions” You may want to begin a Journal so your responses are all in one place. Write the quotation. Add the first question and write your response. Then follow that process for the remaining questions.
Take your time in writing your reply.
It helps to put the date after each Soul-Question response.
The Triduum (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) begins tomorrow with Maundy Thursday. The Triduum is comprised of three days where symbols of death and life are dramatic and poignant reminders of the fragility of life and can be a unique opportunity for Anglicans/Episcopalians – for anyone – to join religious traditions around the world who continue to use some form of prayer beads as part of their prayer life.
Since the earliest of times, people have used pebbles, a string of knots, or beads on a cord to keep track of their prayers offered to God. Anglican Prayer Bead necklaces (33 beads were created in the mid 1980s to help bring people into contemplative / meditation prayer and more intentionally be in the presence of the Holy One. Touching the fingers on each bead, is intentional. It is intended to help keep one’s mind from wandering and the rhythm of the prayers helps lead one into stillness.
Some background for those unfamiliar with Anglican Prayer Bead Necklaces. There are “names” for the thirty-three (representing the number of years of Jesus’ earthly life) beads which comprise the Anglican Prayer Bead necklace: “Weeks” – twenty eight beads divided into four groups of seven … seven to represent the seven days of the week. “Cruciform” – four beads between each ‘week’ helping to form an invisible Cross. “Invitatory” – the bead between the cruciform bead and the cross/medallion which acts as a call to worship and an invitation to a time of focused prayer. Some people add a bead above the Invitatory bead (the “Resurrection” bead) as a reminder that Christ lives on.
Praying the Anglican Prayer Bead necklace is often done ~ in an unhurried pace, followed by a period of silence with time for reflection and listening. ~ by praying around the circle of beads three times (representing the Trinity) ~ by using whatever prayers you choose for the beads in the Weeks, the four beads making the Cruciform, the bead between the Cruciform bead and the medallion/Cross … or simply by holding the beads/necklace in your hands as you pray.
How to pray using the Prayer Beads ~ no particular ‘format’ but some suggestions: Isaiah 41: 10-13 (at the beginning – holding the Cross/medallion); Isaiah 40: 29-31 (Cruciform beads); Matthew 11:28 (Weeks beads); Psalm 27: 1,3 (at the Cross) ; Psalm 29:11; the Lord’s Prayer; the Prayer of St. Francis; the prayer of Dame Julian of Norwich.
Over the years, many Anglican Prayer Bead necklaces have made their way from my home to others. I have found that in the making of them, yet another opportunity presents itself for me to enter into a contemplative mode. If you’d like to make your own, here are some simple steps: ~ Tape the end of thin, bendable wire or dental floss, cord or bead-making string ~ Choose twenty-eight beads that are similar to one another ~ String seven of those beads onto the wire, dental floss, string, using ‘spacers’ (ultra small beads) between the Weeks beads (number you use is optional as they are not counted as part of the Prayer Beads ~ Choose four different (a big larger helps) beads for the Crucifer beads ~ String one of the Cruciform beads onto the wire, floss, string ~ Continue the bead pattern of Weeks (spacers-optional), Cruciform ~ Choose a separate bead (the Invitatory bead – and spacer if desired) ~ String the Invitatory bead ~ Add a Cross, medallion, final bead. ~ Close off the necklace with jewellery endings or knot the two ends together
May this Triduum be a holy and meaningful moment in your spiritual journey as you consider the integration of Anglican Prayer Beads in your spiritual practice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An aside: separate reflections for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, (and when Easter arrives, for Easter Sunday and throughout the Season of Easter) will be available in the morning of their respective day. See the links below.
There’s a lot going on in the world. A lot of tension … anxiety … stress … fear … doubting there is a God … pondering the “What’s it all about, Alphie?” question … asking other questions: “Does intuition exist? If I pay attention to messages that abound in various ways, will my inner awareness speak? will I hear the still, small Voice within? will hearing that ‘still, small Voice within’ help me determine what is ‘fact’ and what is ‘alternative fact’?
Is intuition real? Some put such a discussion in a religious realm of God’s guidance. Some put this in a physical realm of “trusting our gut.”
A particular incident had me wondering about all of this. Scheduled to be on a particular flight, I needed to be at the airport by 7:30 pm. But a different time (5:00 pm) kept surfacing in my mind over and over and over again throughout the day. I couldn’t understand it. But the thought wouldn’t leave, so even though I wasn’t looking forward to the two-plus hour extra stay at the airport before I needed to be at the airport, I paid attention and was at the check-in desk by 5:00 pm – the time that kept surfacing in my head.
When I handed my travel documents to the agent, her “Your flight was cancelled” statement confused me! I had had no notice of such a change … not a text, email or phone call. Then the agent said “There is one last flight to your destination today, but it leaves soon. I’ll see if I can get you on the flight and if I can, you’ll have to hurry because boarding is in forty minutes.” She did. I picked up my carry-on luggage and ran to the boarding gate.
Had I not listened or paid attention to that “get to the airport by 5:00 pm” gentle nudge within me, I would have had to spend a very long and uncomfortable night in the airport, waiting for a flight the next day. Instead, I listened to my intuition – the still, small Voice within (what I like to call my ‘spiritual muscle’), and I not only got to my destination that day, but even earlier than planned!
I’ve experienced many other examples of that nudge over the years – that still, small Voice within, that sense of discomfort when considering one option and comfort when considering another option, that spiritual muscle, so that I cannot help but acknowledge the reality that intuition exists. It is a gift.
How can we invoke the voice of intuition – that “spiritual muscle”? How can we hear it more easily? For some, it’s easy. For others, it takes work. Over the years, I’ve learned four simple steps that have guided me:
1. Be still.
2. Listen.
3. Pay attention.
4. Give it time.
May we pay attention to what we seem to be hearing. And may we begin to trust our intuition, our spiritual muscle … a bit more every day.
When I first walked in front of this tree, I kept on walking. Then I turned back to see if what I thought I saw, I really did see.
I took its photo just to be certain. But there it was … a face within! Not carved by human design, but carved by Nature. And complete with hair, albeit green!
Once again, I was aware of the connectedness of all Creation.
To ignore our forests, our waterways or to ‘use’ them for financial gain in the short term rather than to treasure them for the long term is to ignore a precious gift we have been given.
May all who dwell on planet Earth, treat the sanctity of the created order with gentleness and loving respect. May we never forget the need for growth in forests to breathe clean air. May policy decision-makers be guided by need, rather than greed.
March 21st will be the International Day of Forests created by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly. May we always remember every day that just as the trees need us to survive, we need them to survive and thrive.
What will be released from within me this day? from others in this world this day? What will take flight in me? in this world?
May love and hope, self-control, truth and kindness, patience, gentleness, goodness, thoughtfulness, joy and peace be released this day from each of us into the world – wherever we live and move and have our being.
May hatred and violence, intolerance, fear, envy, terrorism, self-seeking opportunism and seeking power for personal control or gain, take flight this day from the world of politics, from religion, countries, communities, homes – each of us – and not descend again.
A new day begins. A new week begins. May ‘good’ be released. May ‘not-good’ take flight.
We say it often.
We hear it often.
But do we really know what we’re saying
when we say “good morning”?
Yesterday may have had ‘broken pieces.’
Yesterday may have brought disappointment.
Yesterday may have planted fear deep inside
But today is not yesterday.
Today is a new day.
This morning is a new morning.
And it can be a ‘good’ morning
… if only for a split second.
As I swept the leaves covering the front entrance to the house, I noticed a little bit of ‘good’ growing in a very protected place by the front door … a strawberry flower!
The birds had given an unexpected gift … a gentle reminder that every morning can offer an unexpected gift of goodness.
Thanks to the little lesson from the strawberry, I will smile and say “Good morning” to people I encounter this morning, whether I feel like it is a ‘good’ morning or not. As I smile and wish others “Good morning”, I will try to remember that each morning is the first day of the rest of their life, just as each morning is the first day of the rest of my life.
I want every day to be a day that holds to the promise of the strawberry growing unexpectedly in the front yard, bringing a “Good Morning!” wish to my soul. The unexpected gift is a reminder to share goodness with others in whatever ways I can, every day.
“Good Morning!” May this be a ‘good’ morning for you in some way. 🙂
THANKSGIVING. No matter what situation life presents, may there be at least one moment of ‘giving thanks.’ Each day.
THANKSGIVING. No matter how one is experiencing politicians, colleagues, family, friends, may there be at least one person who puts a smile on our face and provides a reason to give thanks. Each day.
THANKSGIVING. No matter how we are feeling, where we are living, what we are eating, may we go to sleep with at least one reason for which we are grateful we are alive. Each night.
Thanksgiving is a holiday this weekend in Canada. Last month, Thanksgiving (Chuseok Day) was celebrated in South Korea. Next month, Thanksgiving will be a holiday in the United States, Liberia, Grenada, as well as China, Norfolk Island, Japan and Vietnam.
Interesting information but … while it’s good that one weekend/day a year the focus is on ‘giving thanks,’ be that as a celebration of the Autumn harvest or a celebration of gratitude, why is a separate day/weekend and all its commercialism needed to help us be aware of the many blessings around us?
Why can we not express an attitude of gratitude for someone, or something, somehow, and some way – each day?
We can. If we want to change our attitude from criticism, self-recrimination, resentment, anger, etc. to gratitude, we can.
Let’s let Harvest Thanksgiving (being celebrated in Canada this weekend), be the catalyst for us to make place for gratitude in our hearts, each day giving thanks … thanksgiving. May this – and each day – be a safe and happy thanksgiving day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Photo was taken at Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada, while visiting my brother, Gerry Mack, and his family. The memories are bittersweet because it’s the last time I saw Gerry before he unexpectedly died and because the memory of that visit is so precious – filled with laughter, adventure, wonderful long talks, his wisdom and love.
He was the very best brother one could ever wish to have and I am so grateful for the privilege of being his ‘big sister’ for the years we had together. Rest in peace, Gerry. Rest in peace.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote “Earth’s crammed with heaven each common bush aflame with God Yet only he (sic) who sees, take off his (sic) shoes.”
If Divine Presence is everywhere (“every common bush”) can it be surmised that there is *nowhere* that Divine Presence, God, the Creator isn’t?
I love reading the letters “n o w h e r e“
They can say “no where.” AKA “it cannot be found.” They can say “now here.” AKA “it is evident.”
Many want to believe in miracles, yet few believe they exist. To them, miracles are … “no where.”
Maybe they are looking for the magnificent, the stupendous, the WOW.
And in doing so, they miss the miracle-in-the-ordinary … the “now here.”
When we take our ‘shoes off’ and become like a child about to wade into a cool brook, we see the minnows in the water, the eagle flying overhead, the smile on the faces of those around us.
We hear the laughter of others and breathe fresh air into our lungs.
We experience the Divine-in-the-ordinary, and also in the commonplace, in the mundane, in “every common bush.”
Miracles.
I want a miracle for my friends, diagnosed with final stages of cancer. I want a miracle for my neighbouring country in the death-throes of political upheaval.
I want a miracle for the world that continues to struggle with COVID and now re-emergence of polio and new emergence of Monky Pox.
I want a miracle for the people of Ukraine and American women who cannot get an abortion even if they were raped or if their own life is in jeopardy.
I want more than glimmers of hope. I want miracles! I want to experience “each common bush aflame with God.”
I guess it’s up to me, and each of us, to find the glimmers of hope in ‘possibility’ and not inevitability.
I guess it’s up to each of us to decide whether it’s “shoes on – or shoes off.”
