In meditative practices, "The Watcher" refers to the part of the mind or spirit that isn't caught up in worry, that can scan the body, that can calmly, silently, even with a half-smile, observe the whole being. It could be called pure consciousness, spirit, the God within us. It's the place of seeing that I…
Want the Change
Want the change. Be inspired by the flamewhere everything shines as it disappears.Rainer Maria Rilke, Sonnets to Orpheus, Part Two, XII. Trans. Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy More Rilke today. In this part of Costa Rica, the Christmas winds -- the vientos de Navidad -- usher in the summer season. This year, they've been delayed. Listening…
Practice: How do I respond?
This weekend's quest(ion) comes from the end of yesterday's post. First, remembering Rilke from Monday, the task is to get small, to connect with "the things we belong to" -- each stone, blossom, child. Then, inspired by Rachel Carson, sit with an issue -- in your family, community, city, country -- that has been weighing…
The Pace of Nature
This week, a question has revolved around my mind: How do I get from where I am now to what I only vaguely imagine in the future? Sometimes, our human existence can seem so begrudgingly slow, especially when we're working faithfully on building something new, and especially when we're suffering. And I've reflected on a…
Things We Forget: Each stone, blossom, child
This Rilke poem is at the heart of "Simple and Forgotten Things." The poem reminds me how it feels to get small again, like a wave reaches for the ocean floor to build its strength before it can form. At the start of this week, I needed a reminder of what that feels like. What…
Simple and Forgotten Things 