The Distraction
The days pass like rain falling between your fingers
You are unaware the mountain’s summit disappears, river dries up
You worry yourself about deadlines and profits
Perception narrows, words evaporate between us
The time passes the definitive, irreversible point
Your distraction is being too focused
Like a robot whose full devotion is to vacuum the living room.
The riverfront’s asymmetry is not amenable to metaphor
Colors are changing the horizon rapidly
The manuscripts lay unread.
Don’t fill time with distractions
Don’t put it inside a pocket
Perish wisely and wildly
Or perish again?
Reading an old newspapper is not useless
It’s like waiting for a train
You may see something strange
Or someone extraordinary
You may want to know more
To understand and comprehend
Like going to a desert to escape the city
And sleep under the stars, take
Photographs of the constellations,
Of the revolving sky where existence is all written
Waiting for a train is like a promise
The patience of thought for surprising
Consequences, allowing the mind
To wander or focus,time,proximity
Of time,simultaneity of waiting grinds
Slowly, my attention, constant and stubborn
Devotes all time to you.
The simplicity that love can enter
One’s heart at first sight.
Will I sacrifice myself for love?
. . . Prayer is a way of connecting with our source. It is about being centered, grounded, mindful of the holy, the presence of the sacred and the precious. . . . Prayer can help us to connect with the poor with open eyes and hearts. It is prayer that can allow us to educate with patience, love and understanding. It is prayer that can enable us to move to a simpler lifestyle. And it is prayer that will allow us to do this with conviction and joy.
And whether or not we pray is as obvious as whether or not we have put our clothes on. For example, the compulsive, frantic, angry, cynical, unintegrated rambling from project to project—even from peace project to peace project—may speak of good intentions, but also of an uneasy and untended inner life. It is possible . . . to do much harm because we have not taken the time to pray. . . .”
-Jack Jezreel
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation
From the Center for Action and Contemplation
The radiance of the red bird is undeniable
The universe is still unfinished after 13.8 billion years
I have time for my season to grow corn
To see you climbing the stairs
the ordinary can join the divine
thoughts ascending with the spirit
I pray while driving in the rain
not to alter suddenly the conditions of the landscape
and to give us time
to accommodate the change.
The whole tribe (minus one who couldn’t arrive on time) came to celebrate my birthday
bringing offerings and affection.
Happy & enjoyable time to be together.
Time is lengthening and shortening. Every moment is precious and treasured.
Don’t be frightened
You can’t stitch fractured thoughts together
Gather them in a basket
From time to time
Pick bits and pieces
And tell your story.
Birds do not cry.
Though sometimes they look helpless.
Like when they are sunning on the beach
And high tide is coming
Why should sadness be inevitable?
You can look out to the sea
Imagine the sailboats racing
Or simply sailing leisurely.
Have patience with the past
In the midst of absurdities
There is time to differentiate
Optimism from hope.
Do not cry.
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