Conversation: Invitation to Astonishment
“I lift up my hands
and then my eyes
and I allowed myself to
to be astonished by the great everywhere
calling to me like an old
and unspoken invitation,”
~ David Whyte Anglo-Irish poet
Conversation: When a poem becomes a prayer
~ written by Kent Harrop
In recent months our government has gutted incentives for renewable energy and doubled down on fossil fuels. Even as our planet heats up at an alarming rate. For those of us who care deeply for the health and sustainability of our environment…how are we to respond?
Here’s a poem by Ada Limon, poet laureate and mystic. Her poem reflects the despair many of us feel. Her poem also offers a measure of hope. I invite you to read.
“And oh my God, are you as exhausted as I am from grieving the planet? Tell me what I’m supposed to say about the end of the world. Tell me how not to be hysterical every time I see what’s coming. Every time I see what’s here. Tell me how to accept that it didn’t have to be this way but that it is.
Tell me how to accept this sun, this fire, this sky, this day. Don’t leave me here in these ashes. Tell me to go inside. Tell me not to stare at the sun. Tell me it’s OK to be alone. Tell me it’s OK to be scared. Tell me it’s OK to be grief stricken. Tell me not to give up. Tell me I have to live.”
~ Ada Limon, You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World
Conversation: Book of Nature
~ written by Kent Harrop
In my Christian tradition the focus has most often been on the human story. To the neglect of the wisdom of our natural world. Perhaps that is why Christians have historically viewed nature as a commodity, rather than as a sacred trust.
Yet, there has always been a prophetic emphasis (often on the margins) calling us to expand our imagination. Here’s commentary from the Franciscan monk Richard Rohr, who invites us to open up to a Creator that is both cosmic and close.
Rohr writes:
‘ Nature itself is the primary Bible. As Paul says in Romans 1:20:
“What can be known about God is perfectly plain, for God has made it plain. Ever since God created the world, God’s everlasting power and deity is there for the mind to see in all the things that God has created.”
The world itself is the primary locus of the sacred and provides all the metaphors that the soul needs for its growth.’
If you too were brought up in a faith tradition were the parameters of thought limiting or expansive?
Conversation: Being Quiet
To cultivate quiet is profoundly countercultural. The spiritual journey which threads its way through all the great religious traditions invites us to slow down, to listen, to breathe deeply. The poet Mary Oliver puts it this way: "My work consists (mostly) of standing still and learning to be astonished."
The prophet Isaiah 55:3 offers “Listen and your soul will live.” An invitation both simple and profound.
North Shore SING and partner Pray and Paddle invites us to enter upon a countercultural journey of listening, noticing (and only then) responding. Together we launch our kayak or walk the trail sharing in a communal act of being in the moment.
How is it for you being quiet? Is this an area you’d like to explore?
If this intrigues you, join us for North Shore SING monthly/year round on the waterways and trails of the North Shore and Ipswich River Watershed and/or with our partner Pray and Paddle on Lake Cochichewick in North Andover, MA (prayandpaddle.org), May - October
Conversation: To Free a River
Nature has an amazing capacity for restoration. When humans make the choice to stop polluting and stop viewing nature as a commodity, then good things begin to happen. Here’s a recent article in the New York Times on what happens when a dam is removed.
It is a good news story for the Klamath River, the indigenous people, the salmon and all who call this stretch of water in Southern Oregon and Northern California home.
This story resonates for those of us who call the Ipswich River home. For 350 plus years the Ipswich River, a great tidal river has been dammed.
Recently the town of Ipswich, MA voted to take down the dam. Final permitting is underway. Note: Photo of Ipswich Mill Dam
This decision was the culmination of many years of advocacy by the Ipswich River Watershed Association (IRWA). A grassroots effort of residents who call this 36 mile, 155 square mile watershed home.
Imagine that day when after 350 years this great tidal river, the ancestral water of the Pawtucket/Agawam will again run free!
What are the possibilities for restoration in the places you call home?