To Live "in grace"

I was introduced to the writings of Anne Morrow Lindbergh several years ago at a “Nurturing the Spirit Within” Retreat at Queen's House of Retreats. Gift from the Sea, she says, was written, “in order to think out my own particular pattern of living, my own individual balance of life, work, and human relationships," to speak about life while describing a variety of shells found on the beach.

In the first chapter she asks, while pondering the channelled whelk, “What is the shape of my life?  It is determined by many things…I want to give and take…carry out my obligations.  But I want first of all – to be at peace with myself.  I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central core to my life … I want, in fact, to live “in grace” as much of the time as possible.  Grace being an inner harmony, essentially spiritual, which can be translated into outward harmony…I would like to achieve a state of inner spiritual grace from which I could function and give as I was meant to in the eye of God…”

“I have learned…that certain environments, certain modes of life, certain rules of conduct are more conducive to inner and outer harmony than others…simplification of life is one road to this…but my frame of life does not foster simplicity…but multiplicity…that leads to fragmentation.  It does not bring grace, it destroys the soul.  Distraction is inherent in woman’s life." 

The problem then is,  "how to remain whole in the midst of the distractions of life; how to remain balanced, no matter what forces tend to pull one off centre; how to remain strong, no matter what shocks come in at the periphery…"

She goes on to talk about the value of solitude.  There is “a quality to being alone that is incredibly precious.  When one is a stranger to oneself then one is estranged from others too.  If one is out of touch with oneself, then one cannot touch others….Only when one is connected to one’s inner core is one connected to others, and for me the core, the inner spring, can best be refound through solitude.”

Today, I along with 9 other ladies, had the opportunity to spend the day at Queen's House.  Some of that time was spent alone, and even though the retreat centre seemed a bit less quiet than usual, I was encouraged by my time of silence.  For like, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, I too have found that in moments of quiet contemplation, in solitude and silence I become more aware of who I am, of my inner needs, desires, and satisfaction - which to me speaks of wholeness. It is in silence that I can ponder the knowledge of and about God that I have learned, let it filter down to my innermost being and, like the fire, the cloud, and the water that symbolize the Holy Spirit, let it flow over and through and wrap itself around who I am. As a result, I become less fragmented. I become more whole, more at peace with who I am and with others.

It is in silence and solitude that I find a measure of that peace that Jesus promised to us.  As His promise of "shalom" indicates,  He seeks to find us and leave us well, with wholeness in our being... with an inner harmony that is reflected in outward harmony.

All in all it was a day that addressed in me the longing to live "in grace."

I end the day with desires expressed by John O'Donohue,

As the light departs to let the earth be one with night...
After the day's intensity - may the heart grow still,
Gracious in thought for all the day brought,
surprises that dawn could never have dreamed...
And awaken the soul for the new tomorrow.

"Dignity"

Last year our son Matthew and his wife Melissa worked in Kabala, Sierra Leone for 8 months.  Melissa did an internship with Cause Canada which does an incredible work with women and children.  You can check out their web page and more reports at http://www.cause.ca

This painting is for Melissa and all the wonderful women she met and made friends with while working with and for them.  I call it "Dignity" for several reasons: because of the dignity and power participation in the literacy programs gives to the women, because women in African bear a lot of pain with silent dignity, and because it just seemed right:)

Below are a few quotes that I have taken from their reports that give a ‘birds-eye’ view of the women’s literacy program. 

Melissa: April 2010

We've been getting more and more into our work in the last few weeks here in Sierra Leone and it's been good.  The people that I am working with in the literacy program are really wonderful.  They are all professional teachers and they are all very good at what they do.  I've had a couple opportunities to attend their classes and each time I've been so impressed.  Most of my work the last few weeks has been in the office.  I made 500 sets of alphabet flashcards for the literacy participants, which took me the better part of last week.  Now I'm helping Margaret (the literacy supervisor) to develop a curriculum for the level 2 classes, which has certainly been a learning process.  It made me really grateful for my TESOL training and all the lesson plans I had to prepare and hand in!

Matthew: July 15, 2010
CAUSE has a program that teaches women in rural communities how to read and write, as well as to do basic numeracy. Most of these women have never been to school and have no foundation for beginning to construct an understanding of written language. Most will never see their 1st language in written form.

Melissa and I attended a class yesterday in the town of Dogoliya. The women were learning consonant blends. PR, FR, DR, CR etc. One older lady, a member of one of our leadership classes was asked to come underline a blend on the chalkboard. She had been watching carefully, trying to grasp the concept. As she approached the board, she took the chalk from Aminata, her teacher, and with only a moment’s hesitation underlined "FR". As she returned to her seat to the class' applause a huge smile broke out over her face.
It is easy to see the impact that basic literacy has on the confidence of these women. It is empowering to learn something new. Many of our students will never be fully literate, but to learn to write one's own name is, for these women, to take control of a portion of their life as yet untouched. It is a beautiful thing to watch.

Melissa: November 2010

Throughout the year, our literacy participants have to take 3 exams; one in April, one in May and one in November.  In April, the class in Kamadugu Sokurala had the lowest exam scores in the program.  We all know that somebody has to come last… but the women in Kamadugu Sokurala understandably felt discouraged by their results.  We decided to send Aunty Margaret (our Project Supervisor) to cheer them up.  Aunty Margaret has many qualities that make her an excellent supervisor; she is experienced, capable, honest and organized.  But her greatest gift, in my opinion, is that she really knows how to talk to people.
Aunty Margaret sat down with the women in Kamadugu Sokurala and asked about the challenges that they are facing in their learning.  After listening to their stories and acknowledging the difficulties, she proceeded to remind them of all the things that make their struggle worthwhile:  the joys of reading and writing, of helping kids with their homework, of seeing women participate in community meetings... (The list is long and that is why we do what we do.)   When Aunty Margaret talks about Women’s Empowerment you can tell that she means every word that she says.  Maybe that’s what makes her so captivating.  Within 20 minutes, the women had forgotten their discouragement and regained their zeal for learning. 
Over the next couple of months, they worked tirelessly with Samuel (their teacher) to catch up to their peers.  When May rolled around, the women in Kamadugu Sokurala sat their exams with confidence …and they blew us away.  Their overall average increased by a margin of 40%.  In just 3 months they had gone from last to first.  We are still celebrating their achievement.  It would seem that sometimes, we all just need a little encouragement from the “aunties” in our lives.

"Spring" gathered in

Yesterday we took time to sit in the sunshine by the pond in "Boffin's Gardens" and soaked in the warmth of spring  - which incidentally must have spent itself because today it was chilly and cold!

Here are a few pictures of what we were able to "gather in" along with a few quotes about nature. 

Not only the days, but life itself lengthens in summer.  I would spread abroad my arms and gather more of it to me, could I do so.  The Life of the Fields, Richard Jefferies

...unless the soul goes out to meet what we see we do not see it; nothing do we see, not a beetle, not a blade of grass.  The Book of a Naturalist, William Henry Hudson

The field has eyes, the wood has ears; I will look, be silent, and listen.  Heronymus Bosch

Doug checking out 'pond life'

travel's offerings

Just home from a trip to Vancouver and thankful for the blessings encountered - the God lights and offerings of beauty in people and nature that we received.

Who would have thought that tucked away on the mountain above Mission, BC is an incredibly beautiful space set firmly amongst the trees...silent and magnificent.

As the winding, tree lined alley led upwards we glimpsed the abbey and were surprised by its bold sturdy form.

Westminister Abbey Church - a place to silently attend to one's own spirit and to the God of all.

Besides a wonderful visit with two of our sons and our soon-to-be second lovely daughter-in-law, we drove a lot!  Visited a few friends and family and drove some more!  

It has been about 20 years since we were in Vancouver and area and we were reminded of the many interesting places that we might visit - next time:)  And "next time" I really must plan our days better so we can see some special spots.

Of course the flowers were already blooming and in spite of the cool damp weather the colours were vivid. I loved these two views and could not resist photographing them.

Driving through the mountains is not my "cup of tea" but the trip went well in spite of rain and huge snowdrops - I'm sure the clouds came down to greet us as we invaded their space high on the mountain passes.


The mountains were still covered with a lot of snow - there's plenty of melting still to happen once the sunshine breaks through the clouds long enough to warm its frozen crystal flakes... and they find their pathway down the mountain side.





I love tunnels and these wildlife byways remind me of "Billy Goat Gruff." In this case though the goats have right of way over the bridge.




Blessed by nature - blessed by people - blessed by God - thankful and refreshed, life goes forward built upon these offerings received.

Friendship

Friends

For Friendship

May you be blessed with good friends,
And learn to be a good friend to yourself,
Journeying to that place in your soul where
There is love, warmth, and feeling.
May this change you.

May it transfigure what is negative, distant,
Or cold within your heart.
May you be brought into real passion, kindness,
And belonging..

May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them, be there for them
And receive all the challenges, truth, and light you need.

May you never be isolated but know the embrace
Of your anam cara. [friend of the soul]

"We should not force ourselves to change by hammering our lives into any predetermined shape. We do not need to operate according to the idea of a predetermined program, plan or goals for our lives. Instead, we need to practice an art of attention to the inner rhythm of our days and lives, which will bring a new awareness of our own human and divine presence."

"It is far more creative to work with the idea of mindfulness than with the idea of will. Too often people try to change their lives by using the will as a kind of hammer to beat their life into proper shape. The intellect identifies the goal of the program, and the will accordingly forces the life into that shape. This way of approaching the sacredness of one's own presence is externalistic and violent. It brings you falsely outside yourself, and you can spend years lost in the wilderness of your own mechanical, spiritual programs. You can perish in a famine of your own making."

                                                                                                                    - John O'Donohue

"unfinished" or "Beckoning Woods"

In Wikipedia I read that, "An unfinished work is creative work that has not been finished. Its creator may have chosen never to finish it or may have been prevented from doing so by circumstances outside of their control. Such pieces are often the subject of speculation as to what the finished piece would have been like; sometimes they are finished by others."

As you can see I have an unfinished painting, although I worked hard on it this afternoon...but you just can't hurry painting with watercolours or it "turns back on you."  The show is this coming weekend and in order for watercolour to settle into the paper it takes a few days, then one needs to frame it!!  Well this painting just might miss the show.

Unfinished obviously means something is not yet in a complete state - but personally I don't think it means that it is uninteresting, without value, meaning or beauty.  Being finished does not necessarily mean that something becomes perfect either. I'm afraid I'm being a bit ambivalent about how I feel about this unfinished painting. I really do want to finish it but people beckon me away as we are off for coffee with some delightful people in a few minutes!! and I have a week that is completely full, morning to evening, Monday to Thursday supper...So perhaps I will work into the night hours on this.

But any view of the woods is always incomplete - there is always something more to see, beckoning us to look under a leaf, behind a tree, around the turn in the path...perhaps one should leave a painting unfinished so others can fill it in with their imagination:)

Bit of a ramble this...but perhaps you get the gist of how I'm feeling.

"everydayness"

around the fireplace at Shekinah

Wonderful to be able to spend time with 33 great ladies at Shekinah Retreat Centre this past weekend.  I think the most often heard/read statement about the weekend was a form of, "I loved the quiet reflection time - I feel like my soul is starting to catch up."

It is always a blessing to ponder what we hear at a retreat and take home something practical and precious.  I just don't want to get caught up in the "everydayness" of life without bringing into it something new and refreshing.

Here is a poem that reminds me to be aware of my soul in the "work" of life. 

For Work  by John O'Donohue

May the light of your soul bless your work with love and warmth of heart.

May you see in what you do the beauty of your soul.

May the sacredness of your work bring light and renewal

to those who see and receive your work.

May your work never exhaust you.

May it release wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration, and excitement.

May you never become lost in bland absences.

May the day never burden.

May dawn find hope in your heart, approaching your new day with dreams,

possibilities, and promises.

May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.

May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.

May your soul calm, console, and renew you.