HEARTH
blog
Shedding
God is no-thing,concealed in the now and here:the less you reach for him,the more he will appear. Silesius These past few days I’ve had the impulse toward shedding. It feels like an inner pull to embrace the light of the season. With the upcoming solstice,...
read more
Impermanence
Come quickly – as soon asthese blossoms open,they fall.This world existsas a sheen of a dew on flowersIzumi Shikibu This has been a busy week with a lot of driving, errands, work, and just trying to squeeze a full week into three days. My husband Jay and I had taken a...
read more
Sanctuary
The Angel that presided o’er my birthSaid ‘Little creature, form’d of joy and mirth,Go, love without the help of anything on earth.William Blake Most of the day had been stormy with high winds and heavy rain. I had gone out to feed the birds and pick up the mail in...
read more
Elm Tree
Complaint is only possible while living in the suburbs of God. Hafiz As I read this poem by Hafiz, I found myself tempted to complain about complaining. It sometimes seems easier to share a story about a mishap or mistreatment, or an unexpected event. Fortunately...
read more
Joyful Connectedness
Spring overall. But inside us there's another unity. Behind each eye here, one glowing weather. Every forest branch moves differently in the breeze, but as they sway they connect at the roots. Rumi Cece looked up at me with wide blue eyes. She seemed to be...
read moreDeer
Keep walking, though there is no place to get to. Don’t try to see through the distances. That’s not for human beings. Move within, but don’t move in the way fear makes you move. Rumi There was a loud snap outside our front door. It was early morning and the...
read moreSpringtime Fields
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase each other doesn’t make any sense. Rumi As the season changes to...
read more
Squirrel
If you want money more than anything, you’ll be bought and sold. If you have a greed for food, you’ll be a loaf of bread. This is a subtle truth: whatever you love, you are. Rumi Wildlife often grazes on a hillside outside our kitchen window. Yesterday, as I...
read moreWater
Complaint is only possible while living in the suburbs of God. Hafiz I tugged my raincoat over a couple layers of sweaters and pulled on my boots. What had started as a few sprinkles was now in the third day of colder temperatures and heavy rain. The local...
read more
Daffodil
Dear God, please reveal to us your sublime beauty that is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere so that we will never again feel frightened. St. Francis of Assisi There was a loud siren booming throughout the neighborhood. I was inside putting clothes in the...
read moreHummingbird
True love gives us beauty, freshness, solidity, freedom, and peace. True love includes a feeling of deep joy that we are alive. Thich Nhat Hanh As I turned the corner toward my front door, a streak of color darted before my eyes. A soft hum penetrated the air,...
read more
Dawn
Night is passing, sun comes by dawn, Awaken now, beauty’s essence, heart of love. Hakim Omar Khyyám As the New Year began, I reflected on the number of people I know who had lost someone special recently. Funerals and services have been held for daughters,...
read more