“Satyagrapha. Satyagrapha. Satyagrapha …” Our global prayer of lament these months echoes a resounding, world-wide plea for satyagrapha, meaning “truth force.” Engaging this energy of passive political resistance has been advocated by many activists throughout history, particularly noted was Mahatma Gandhi in liberating India from oppressive power. Today the pandemic invites us to yet another…
“Then would you read a Sustaining Book, such as would help and comfort a Wedged Bear in Great Tightness.” —A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh Winnie the Pooh is speaking to Christopher Robin while stuck in Rabbit’s doorway after—as usual—he’s eaten too much honey. I’m feeling a bit like Pooh these days, wedged in a time…
The lemon balm in my garden began poking out of the soil a couple of weeks ago. At first, there were tiny green bits, barely noticeable unless you looked hard. Now, the plants are almost bushy. I feel tempted to pick a sprig but the plants still look too tender. I can’t bear the thought…
I’ve been thinking about holistic health, overall wellness and self-care. Are others thinking about self-care at a time when we are also thinking about basic survival? I googled the term “self-care during the pandemic” and although I was researching the topic looking for comfort, I actually felt a bit overwhelmed by all of the resources…
“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” —Isaiah 43: 18–19 No! I’m not sure I can perceive it. I want…
AAAWWWHOOO AAAWWWHOOO Who cooks for you?? Still Still Blink Swoooooop Clutch, hold, hold, hold Swivel to peer, search, scan AAAWWWHOOO AAAWWWHOOO Who cooks for you?? Still Still Ruffle Gaze Swivel If you guessed it was the magnificent Owl that captured my imagination in last week’s blog entry, you were right! “Who cooks for you?” is…
Hello, Prairiewoods friends! My favorite days are the days when I fall in love over and over and over again. With people’s faces, their smiles, with the bees drinking water at the fountain or the prairie grasses dancing with the wind, a dog’s gruff bark, the feeling of love emanating from deep within me. I haven’t…
Christine Valter Paintner’s beautiful four-minute reflection, Praise Song for the Pandemic, might offer us words for the gratitude we sense most deeply these months. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCYoikGaI6U —Ann Jackson, PBVM, Prairiewoods spiritual services coordinator
Five years ago, my husband and I bought our first home, relishing the joys of our own walls, our own lawn, our own silence. And for five springs, I’m ashamed to say, we have rushed through our lives, barely aware of the natural world that also calls this plot of land home. (We only seemed…
“The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change.” —Maya Angelou I began working from home on March 19. Since then, I have been mostly at home, self-isolating and having minimal in-person interaction with the rest of the world. Working from home has meant long days at my computer or on…