On a hot and deeply still July afternoon in 2015, I made my first exploration of the land at Prairiewoods. I didn’t know there were maps of the trails, so I just wandered. Stopping where the path overlooked a bend in Dry Creek I saw, many feet below where I stood, a single large blue-gray…
DetailsThe Women of Interfaith Dialogue group gathered virtually for the season of spring. I wrote this poem for the occasion—with great appreciation for Creation’s gift of flowers! Which of your senses are you appreciating the most today? Maybe try writing a poem about it? EXQUISITE GIFT Oh, the palette of petals, the multitudes of flowers,…
Details“When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the…
DetailsWouldn’t you love to spend a night soaring through our enchanting universe, surrounded by shining stars and pulsing planets and swirling galaxies? On Saturday, June 4, you’re invited to spend A Night in the Cosmos at Prairiewoods’ annual Garden Party fundraiser. Together we will get swept away by the twinkling lights, an out-of-this-world dinner, and…
DetailsWe eagerly anticipate this weekend’s Spirituality in the 21st Century conference! Together, we co-host Zuni elder Jim Enote, who invites us to listen, feel, see, sense creation’s invitation to G-R-O-W, to deepen awareness of our interdependence with Earth! We hope to see you this weekend to celebrate our co-stewardship with Earth. Check out these three…
DetailsI write this poem in memory of the friends that the Prairiewoods community has lost. THE SPARROWS SING THEIR SPRING SONG The sparrows sing their morning sun song from the soon-to-be-greening boughs. This day, though, breaks without you— our hearts are aching with sorrow. Then, a soft flicker and flutter of feathers— the sparrows rise…
Details“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it…
DetailsTwo weeks from today, we celebrate Earth Day. How will we celebrate? And will we celebrate? Will we spend the day working for Earth justice and committing to a lifetime of Earth care? Shall we treat Earth Day like a special holiday, an important anniversary, a family reunion, a birthday of sorts? Shall we spend…
DetailsInaugural Poet Amanda Gorman asked this question in the first line of her now-famous national elegy: “When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?” Her question, posed in the context of generations of inherited cultural trauma, perpetuated in the name of manifest destiny, is one that gives us…
DetailsAmong many haunting images regarding the incomprehensible, unconscionable situation in Ukraine are images of Vladimir Putin seated at the end of very long tables for meetings with individual Russian government ministers. The disturbing disconnection portrayed in these images stirred a meditation in my own prayer. I began to envision the myriad of people missing from…
DetailsWell here we are again, with a new spring season upon us! We’ve sprung our clocks ahead and the first official day of spring is coming up on Sunday. Hurray! The days are longer already, and the afternoon and evening sunlight will continue to stretch. The days are also warmer, which invites more time outside…
DetailsThis week the world passed the 6 million mark for recorded deaths from Covid. It is a staggering number, one that is difficult to wrap our heads around. Yet each loss is personal and has profound significance for those who knew and loved that person. One of those we lost in 2020 (though not to…
DetailsPrairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center has worked for decades within a global learning community to co-create the “more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.” The Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing global environmental crisis unmask glaring inequalities that must give way to the common good. We mourn with all who have lost loved ones, with all who…
DetailsIn the early morning hours of Feb. 24, Russia invaded Ukraine, putting in danger Ukraine’s more than 44 million residents and our global sense of balance. In the days since, the fighting has been relentless. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been displaced, while others are watching the fighting surround them in their homes. Right…
Details“Sarah laughed.” A brief lexicographical survey of biblical figures who were said to have laughed is a short list. Many are familiar with a famous matriarch from Genesis 18, Sarah (Abraham’s wife). When Sarah is told by a messenger of the Lord that she will conceive and bear a child in her old age, she…
DetailsYou are so little to be set loose in the wide prairie, your arms no more than twigs, your trunk pencil-thin. As we press earth around your roots, we pray that the sun and the soil will feed you, the rain will enliven you, the moon will watch over you, that you will grow up…
DetailsLike many around the globe, I was deeply moved to hear of the deaths of South African, Anglican bishop and theologian Desmond Tutu (Oct. 7, 1931–Dec. 26, 2021), and Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist, author, poet, teacher and founder of Plum Village also known as the “father of mindfulness” Thich Nhat Hanh (Oct. 11, 1926–Jan.…
DetailsYou are holy and sacred And utterly unique. There are gifts you were born to give. Songs you were born to sing. Stories you were born to tell. And if you do not give it, The world will simply lose it. It is yours alone to offer, No one can give it for you. And…
DetailsMillions of people around the world were saddened this week by the passing of Thich Nhat Hanh. The International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, which he founded in 1982, posted this message on their website: The International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism announces that our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has passed away…
DetailsOne of my beloved spiritual friends emailed me a creative reflection template (pictured above) that invites an artistic way to reflect and journal about the past year 2021 flowing into our newly started year 2022. I love the flowy circular nature of this template and the gentle phrasing of the writing prompts. I find myself…
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