wisdom & wonder

Mystery

Scientists and theologians have a lot in common.
They see, they question, they explain.
Theories and theologies, boxes in which to fit reality,
seen and unseen,
a comfortable, controllable world.
But if there is no mystery
it doesn’t feed the heart.

Mystery is as much part of the universe, and God, as fact –
breath and bones, shadow and substance,
secret and revealed.

To know someone well is also to know
their difference from me,
to respect their secret places.
It’s the same with God, and with our planet.
Approach both with awe and wonder as well as
science or certainty.

For some things candlelight is better than spotlight
and not knowing is better than understanding all.

trust & darkness

Trusting

I passed
this small fall before
and now here I am again
in the darkening night,
the stream still flowing and talking,
still breaking and bubbling white
and will be all through the night
though none sees or hears,
the rock cradling the brown waters
as they hang smooth as beer
then fall laughing and frothing
over its bony arm.

In another place
the dark is hiding
the soft contours of my children’s faces
blown by sleep,
breathing the seconds of the night
as they pool in dreams
then rush sparkling away.
And I must trust
this flow will not fail
though I do not watch or wait,
held by arms I cannot see,
carrying secret memories.

prayer & blessings

Today

Welcome to the gift of today.
This is a day unlike all others and when gone
it cannot be retrieved.

This is a day when I can hold the interface
between change and routine.
This is a day breathed by God who shines
in all its possibilities. This is a new day.

This is a day to leave behind the regrets of yesterday
and start again, fresh and absorbed by hope.
This is a day for me to make my own.

Today I can choose to not just see the grey,
to not let busyness cram every corner
or boredom kill my creativity.
Today I can notice all the blessings that lap at my shore,
or look for opportunities to quietly bless others.

I can count the smiles, see the ever-changing shapes
between leaf and tree, between earth and sky
and as I see them, they are mine and can enlarge my soul.

And even if today holds great pain
or the death of those most precious,
there are gentle hands to hold me
and carry me through to tomorrow.

Hot water

Hot water,
hot shower,
warming my skin,
warming my soul
that is holding
my body.

I am bathed
in warmth,
I absorb it
from the water,
together we enjoy
the happiness of heat
on a cold and ordinary
day.

20th April 2023

Here are more spring thoughts as it is such a wonderful season of change and new life, and who cannot be moved by it, feeling the joy as the outside world opens up ready for us to respond.

On the cusp

A new start for spring.  That means for awakening and unfolding and new colours and shapes and thoughts and sunlight shining and rain clouds storming and animals coming alive with passion and foolishness in all their mating rituals.

We are at the beginning of spring now so we are on the cusp.  The nights can bring frost and the days warm sunshine.  We are like deserts, like mountains.  The crocuses have gone, and primroses, violets and celandines take their place while the bluebells are just opening.  It is quite glorious.  The lawn is newly mowed and is a carpet of bouncy green to walk upon.  It invites your feet and your heart into its open space.  The trees are still bare but the buds are bursting.  A bird is singing.

This is the time to take internal skis or surf boards and launch off on the swells that are all around.  It is time for trimming, tying and mending so our feet and our heart are ready.  New dreams are waiting to be born, new friends to be found, new pathways explored, new ways of living lived out.  It is time to open the cupboards and bring out the good and sweep out the stale and the old.  And it is a communal dance, gathering together under friendly skies, working together in the gathering days.

This is from Where the Birds Sing: Wild Places for the Soul.

For more information see http://janeupchurch.co.uk/where-the-birds-sing/

Spring

I could fill a whole book
with spring.
Everywhere I look
life is bursting out,
such flowers, such scents,
and new-born leaves
so delicate and perfect.

I cheer as I see them,
stopping to look, to touch,
to smell.

Beauty calls forth beauty
and I blossom with them,
both of us offering
a hymn of praise
with our smiles.

This is from A Leaf between my Toes: Finding Wonder

For more information see http://janeupchurch.co.uk/a-leaf-between-my-toes/