Nine years ago, my husband and I moved from Chicago to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to be closer to family. Several weeks after we moved here, we went to a popular family-run breakfast restaurant. We waited in line for a table, only to have the four parties behind us get seated while we were ignored. When…
“Hope is holding in creative tension all that is, with everything that could and should be, and each day taking some action to narrow the distance between the two.” —Parker J. Palmer “May you live in interesting times” is supposedly an ancient curse, although its origins are foggy. Still, we know why it is called…
I am practicing nature photography as a prayerful experience and I’ve learned so much from two wonderful books by Christine Valters Paintner, The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred and Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice. Both books are excellent. I’m also deepening my contemplative photography practice…
What is hope? We often think of hope (or the lack thereof) as a feeling we experience as we move toward a desired outcome. Valentin Tomberg, a French mystic, scholar and hermeticist, asserts that hope is not nearly that limited. In his view, it is more like “a light-force which radiates objectively and which directs…
NOT Domination. Cooperation. Collaboration. Co-Creation. Connection. Communion. We grow deeper together. We are One. Like the vast mycelial network connecting the trees beneath the surface, we are One. In the words of ecologian Thomas Berry, “That the universe is a communion of subjects rather than a collection of objects is the central commitment of the…
Dear Prairiewoods friends, A few years ago, I planted a peony bush in my little yard. This year it is blooming for the first time—there are two blooms! I am beyond excited! Have you ever nuzzled your face into the face of a Peony? It’s, like, the best thing ever; it’s like a silky flower kiss…
The content of today’s blog comes from Bob Engler and Carol Nilles, great friends of Prairiewoods. They are using this Gratefulness.org video, A Grateful Day with Brother David Steindl-Rast, for daily prayer. Its opening question, “Do you think this is just another day in your life?” invites us to be mindful of all of the…
I value the trees in my yard as friends. We go through the seasons together. Trees give me joy, strength, hope. Meeting Face to face, or so it feels, we meet, (two sides of a window, the blossoming tree and I) we breathe, we deeply breathe, together, the same soft-bright sky, above us both,…
Prairiewoods’ mission, to welcome and provide sacred space for people of all faiths and cultures and to nurture relationships with the Source of All Being, Earth, self and others, includes everyone. Further, our Franciscan heritage calls us to reverence the Divine Presence within all creation, including each member of the Earth Community. It is because…
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. —John 14:18 There is a wonderfully songful prayer chant inspired by the scripture passage from John 14:18 called “I Will Not Leave You Comfortless” by Jan Phillips from her album All the Way to Heaven. This song is such a comfort and can be…