Sun Shower

The bench waiting for someone to come and sit by the slow moving river and the coastal mountain views

The sun dripping through the trees along with the rain drops

The small creek gently babbling away with new energy from the rain

The silence, the stillness, with lovely interruptions from the birds, the wind, and the rain

I went back to the woods today

I went back to the woods today
To the ancient moss covered trees with their branches waving in the wind
To the ducks swimming silently on the black water of the pond
To the rain drops that eventually started to fall and make ripples on the surface of the water
To the peace below the distant road noise
To the birds singing their early spring songs
And to witness the buds on young trees ready to burst.

It had been a while
The door had been shut to this place
Today it was open
I didn't ask why, or ask for permission
I just went in
Without expectation or desire
Just to be
To enjoy

I had to learn to let go of this place, too
To allow Mystery to be Mystery and to be open to it everywhere
To be aware and be grateful for every breath no matter where I am
To be present to Presence in all places and every circumstance

I am learning to find Beauty, and to surrender to Love,
In the mundane and un-spectacular
In my living room and in cleaning out the cat box
In the car and in cutting the lawn
In negotiations and in making a sale
In traffic and in waiting for loved ones to arrive
and of course...in the woods

tug on the fraser at dusk

Stricken

I have really been aware of my own spiritual poverty lately (which is good - I think?). I really need the mercy and grace of God - continuously! Came across this quote from Merton - funny, but so true. Kind of sums it up:

"Mere commitment to a decent program of action does not lift the curse. Our real choice is between being like Job, who knew he was stricken, and Job's friends who did not know that they were stricken too-though less obviously than he. (So they had answers!)"

"Go to prayer seeking not prayer, but God."

"Go to prayer seeking not prayer, but God." James Finley - "merton's palace of nowhere"

I have spoken about this before, and just want to reiterate that learning to pray is a waste of time if my focus isn't on God. I get so frustrated with myself sometimes for not doing a better job of praying. What is that? I have even considered shutting this blog down, or at least changing the name because I don't want to mislead people. The important thing isn't prayer - it's God.

The goal and focus of my life is God and he will guide me in my relationship with Him. My job is to wait for God and to simply stay aware and awake and trust His action in me. That's it. That's what prayer and learning to pray is really all about.

101 Spiritual Transformation Words and Phrases (Enjoy):

1. Paradox
2. Honesty (Pr 12.17)
3. Letting go (Col. 3.8)
4. Prayer (Mt 6.9)
5. Awareness
6. Presence
7. Powerless (Ro. 8.3)
8. Trust (Ro. 9.33)
9. Openness
10. Forgiveness (Mt 6.14)
11. Poverty (Mt. 5.3)
12. Affirming
13. Service (Gal. 5.13)
14. Stillness (Ps. 46.10)
15. Being centered
16. Silence (Ecc. 3.7)
17. Patience and all of the rest of the Fruits of the Spirit! (Gal 5:22)
18. Love, love, love (1. Cor. 13)
19. Love yourself, God and Others (Luke 10.27)
20. Nurture
21. Rest (Deut 33.12)
22. Heart (Pr. 3.5)
23. Obey (John 14.23)
24. Faith (Ro. 1.17)
25. Float
26. Process
27. Mercy (Jas 2.13)
28. Freedom (2 Co. 3.17)
29. Mystery (Eph 5.32)
30. Worship (John 4.24)
31. Follow (Mt. 4.19)
32. Reality
33. Humanness (Heb 2.14)
34. Responsibility
35. Asking for help (1 Sa. 7.12)
36. Accepting help (Jn. 1.16)
37. Focus on what needs to be changed in me, not in the world (Mt. 23.26)
38. Listening (1 Sa. 3.9)
39. Tasting (Ps. 34.8)
40. Seeing (Ps. 34.8)
41. Childlike (Lk. 10.21)
42. Sabbath (Ex. 20.8)
43. Deliverance (Ro. 11.26)
44. Simplicity (Pr. 8.5)
45. Seek the Kingdom first (Mt.6.33)
46. Life (Jn. 1.4)
47. Death (Jn. 12.23-28)
48. and Resurrection (Jn. 12.23-28)
49. Experience
50. Inner Journey
51. Generosity (2 Co. 8.7)
52. Suffering (1. Pe 4.1)
53. Wholeness (Eph 4.13)
54. Miracles (1. Co 12.10)
55. Justice (Ps. 33.5)
56. Emptiness (Phil. 2)
57. Dialogue
58. Humility (Eph. 4.2)
59. Contemplation
60. Risk
61. Acceptance
62. Healthy detachment
63. Breath
64. Discernment
65. Self-surrender (Lk. 9.23)
66. Wisdom (Pr. 11.30)
67. Community
68. The Body of Christ (1. Co. 12.13)
69. Live by the Spirit (Gal. 5.22)
70. Letting go of our egos
71. Co-creation
72. Co-operation
73. “Circles not pyramids”
74. Truth
75. Journey (not the band)
76. Healthy dependence
77. Trinity (Mt. 28.19)
78. Invitation (Mt. 4.19)
79. Desire
80. Hope (Heb. 11.1)
81. Letting go of the past (Is. 43.18)
82. Letting go of the future
83. Living in the “Now”
84. Subtraction before addition
85. Spaciousness
86. Tears
87. Laughter
88. Joy (Jn. 15.11)
89. Transparency
90. Mess
91. Deep calling unto deep (Ps 42.7)
92. Practice
93. Grace (2 Pe. 3.18)
94. Nothing
95. A blank slate
96. Desert (Mk 1.13)
97. Darkness
98. Light (Jn. 3.19)
99. Eternal (Jn. 3.16)
100. Vulnerable
101. Jesus (1 Jn. 2.6)

If you have any other transformational words or verses, let me know. Thanks.