I love your perspective on prayer based on presence rather than faith. It reminded me of a poem I had written long ago. Just sharing for what it is worth:
Wonderful sentiments. I was walking my dogs this morning and thinking about how when I'm the busiest, taking time away from the business, is when things coalesce into a kind of purity of ethereal otherness. It's like it doesn't exist until I come back to the busy space, and then it's back, but by then, my mind has refreshed, my body has relaxed a little, and sometimes inspiration hits. Or it doesn't, but at least I'm able to get back into the grind without bitterness. That, to me, is the socratic means of equilibrium.
I try not to pursue freedom from pain and frustration (though I often try to avoid it). I think we are nothing without pain, so I think we have to incorporate it into our lives in a healthy way.
Absolutely. Pain is the only way we grow. It's the signal we get when we're not aligned with ourselves and/or our lives. We ignore it at our peril. And when we face it, we open ourselves to limitless possibility.
I needed to read this today. The act of being present in the moment, fully aware, can feel rebellious in a society based on the hustle and multitasking. Allowing space to ponder (and wonder) only leads to good things. Thank you!
I love your perspective on prayer based on presence rather than faith. It reminded me of a poem I had written long ago. Just sharing for what it is worth:
A Sort of Prayer
On rage-filled nights
I reinvent you, my god,
and spew angry bile
at your black-hole divinity.
Leave what is vile,
absorb what calms,
like a wash of sleep
after a nightmare.
Had I faith, I would pray
not to a formless void
that contains galaxies
but to all that is
gentle in us.
And praying, re-awaken my spirit
from numbness,
the distance of fear.
Teach me, o sky-faced god,
to pray:
Teach me words
that do not spin
in futile orbits
around the universe
but touch
what is best in me.
Wow -- that is beautiful and powerful. Thank you so much for sharing this.
black-hole divinity. futile orbits. Wash of sleep after a nightmare. Just wow.
Wonderful sentiments. I was walking my dogs this morning and thinking about how when I'm the busiest, taking time away from the business, is when things coalesce into a kind of purity of ethereal otherness. It's like it doesn't exist until I come back to the busy space, and then it's back, but by then, my mind has refreshed, my body has relaxed a little, and sometimes inspiration hits. Or it doesn't, but at least I'm able to get back into the grind without bitterness. That, to me, is the socratic means of equilibrium.
That's a beautiful image – thank you so much for sharing. Love the idea of the Socratic means of equilibrium..
I try not to pursue freedom from pain and frustration (though I often try to avoid it). I think we are nothing without pain, so I think we have to incorporate it into our lives in a healthy way.
Absolutely. Pain is the only way we grow. It's the signal we get when we're not aligned with ourselves and/or our lives. We ignore it at our peril. And when we face it, we open ourselves to limitless possibility.
Integration, not separation.
Yes. I feel like any moment now one of us will use the word "dialectical! And it will actually be the right word for the right moment!
Somewhere in the afterglow, Robert Pirsig is smiling.
I needed to read this today. The act of being present in the moment, fully aware, can feel rebellious in a society based on the hustle and multitasking. Allowing space to ponder (and wonder) only leads to good things. Thank you!
Thank you!