One of our three-year-old family mystics teetered precariously on the top step of the stairs, clutching his stuffed “Bun-Buns,” and peering over the abyss. “There’s something down there,” he whispered, eyes wide with primal terror and simultaneous wonderment. VERY still, riveted with one toe over the edge, he listened with all ears, eyes and nose…
Saint Francis, who valued the natural world as “a place where God is revealed,” encouraged his followers by his own unique celebration of creation. God’s goodness, generosity and love were not off-limits somewhere in far-off cathedrals, but rather to be found in creation as a whole. This Franciscan spirit called Prairiewoods to create space to…
As we approach this national holiday to celebrate “Independence Day,” I’ve been praying with my heart’s longing for our nation to rename it “Inter-dependence Day.” What would the world look like if we really stepped more deeply through our independence to a world-wide, collective consciousness that held “inter-dependence” as one of its highest values? How…
We are living in extraordinary times. Even if a single day feels ordinary, the compilation of days that make up this week, this season, this pandemic is extraordinary. But what are we doing to commemorate this historic time? How are we living every day as though it is an ordinary but marvelous day? In 2012,…
“A huge shift in consciousness is underway in our time. A sea change from the “I and it” marketplace conception of the world to an “I and thou” sense of communal identity. Joanna Macy describes it as a “Great Turning,” an ecological revolution widening our awareness of the intricate web that connects us. Teilhard de…
Do you have a favorite place within the Prairiewoods land? A special spot? A reflection area where you feel especially at home? Maybe under a particular pine tree. Or at the center of the labyrinth. Maybe sitting on one of the logs encircling Grandmother Oak … The prayer circle in the woods. Sitting on the…
What are the sounds of silence? What speaks when we are brave enough to be still? What song does creation sing as we wake to a new language that might sound foreign? As my beloved other Mom propped herself up on one elbow in her hospice room, the wide smile and tears of joy indicated that…
I almost always take the present moment for granted. Obsession with the future or the past seems to take up most of my brain-space. The constant chatter can become too much. When this happens, I’ve found the practice of “resting in the present moment” to be especially helpful. I take a satisfying breath inward, pause…
“We do not emerge from a crisis the same; we emerge either better or worse.” To emerge better, we need to “care for nature so that it can care for us.” —Pope Francis, Earth Day message This week we celebrate as a global community the sixth anniversary of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical on the care…
This winter, I slept eight or nine hours a night and still woke up exhausted. My eyelids fluttered closed as I put on eye makeup. By mid-morning, I could hardly keep my head up without the help of caffeine. For several months, my emotional exhaustion presented as physical exhaustion, because they were all rolled up…