Adsum : Here I Am Lord

May the passions of lust, greed, pride and

 attachment depart from me.  O Lord, I come to seek

Thy shelter: Bless me with thy grace.

- Sacred Song of the Sikhs

This simple prayer reminds me of the Adsum statue I bought when I was a nun ... also called  "Here I am Lord".  When I saw it I was completely taken by the open handed/hearted presence of this woman.

Letting go of everything ~

from possessions to ideas ~

open, not clinging

 ... open, receiving and letting go

 ... open to be a pure reflection of ONENESS. 

The grace is always there ...

am I open to receive it?

Are you?

Many blessings ...  Cate

Food is not merely something we eat.  It is a ceaseless
reminder that we are mortal, earthbound, hungry, and
in need.  We are bound by a biological imperitave that
forever keeps us returning to the soil, plants, animals,
and running waters for replenishment.  Eating is life.
Each time we eat, the soul continues its earthly journey.
With every morsel of food swallowed a voice says, "I
choose life.  I choose to eat, for I yearn for something
more."
                                           - Marc David

Hmmmm...the "the ceaseless reminder that we are mortal, earthbound,
hungry and in need."     And therefore, it is a reminder about where I can
turn to meet those needs.  With so many of us struggling with weight issues
and eating disorders, and childhood obesity on the rise ... it is clear that
food has taken over way too much space in the reach for security and
comfort. 
So, as in so many things, for me it is all about balance. 
Do I eat to live?  Or, live to eat? 
Food is fuel, not fulfillment ... and it is a grounding to the earth,
and is about so much more than food ... yes, if chosen well and in
moderation... it feeds life and love and creativity and sharing ...
it feeds and fuels the journey ... it is not the journey ..
it is simply fuel ....kept in balance and moderation,
food, like all things, points me toward
gratitude ... toward the divine.
Cate

I Breathe Gratitude

Wild air, world-mothering air,

Nestling me everywhere,

That each eyelash or hair

Girdles, goes home betwixt

The fleeciest, frailest-flixed

Snowflake; that's easily mixed

With riddles, and is rife

In every least thing's life;

This needful, never spent,

And nursing element;

My more than meat and drink,

My meal at every wink;

This air, which by life's law,

My lung must draw and draw

Now but to breathe its praise.

          -Gerard Manley Hopkins

I remember the first time I was told that God is in the air ...

oh how that mystified me, touched my heart ... alive and awake!!!

I realized that there is more air than anything ...

and that air connects everything ...

and carries  all things!!

And so ... there is God ...

in the space between the laughter of a baby and my delighted ears...

there is God ...

in the space that carries your loving smile to my receptive eyes...

there is God ...

gently touching every inch of my aching body this night ...

there is God ...

quietly filling my lungs with life.

God is in the air ... God is the air ...

inside and outside...

everywhere...

closer than my very breath...

I breathe gratitude

Amen

Cate

Be

Drop thy still dews of quietness,

   Till all our strivings cease;

Take from our souls the strain and stress,

And let our ordered lives confess

   The beauty of Thy peace. 

                         -John Greenleaf Whittier

                          Dear Lord and Father Mankind

....oh gosh, yet another call to simplicity...to "the beauty of thy peace"

I have strongly felt the calling to let go, simplify, simply be present and take loving care ...

stop multi tasking, be present...be simple...simply BE !!

I have been moving towards this for several years. And this time, I think I am making my way over the tiny mountain ...  I didn't even go out seeking multiple bargains after the holiday as I prepared to shower everyone I know with dozens of wonderful gifts throughout the coming year ... I have simply lost interest in all that work and storage and tracking and stuff ... I want to lighten my load, I want to lighten everything .... there may be some slightly dissapointed nieces and nephews about a year from now ~ oops!

Patt had told me for years that I needed to let go of multi-tasking ... such a task in this multi tasking world!!  And yet, I get it!  I long for "the beauty of thy peace" ... in all moments!    I had many of those moments today, for which I am so grateful!!

I read a lovely thought I also wanted to share today ...

Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.
    ~ Sister Frances Ryan, IHM

Be Peace .............Cate

We pray tonight, O God, for confidence in ourselves,

our powers and our purposes in this beginning of a

New Year.  Ward us from all lack of faith and hesitancy

and inspire in us not only the determination to do a

year's work well, but the un-faltering belief that what

we wish to do, we will do.  Such Faith, O Lord, is born

of Works.  Every deed accomplished finishes not only

itself but is fallow ground for future deeds.  Abundantly

endow us, Our Father, with this deed-born Faith.

-  W. E. B.  Du Bois

I needed this reading today as a loving reminder of my need to set my intention each morning with a plan of action that is firmly planted in "Thy will be done" . It is within those roadmaps that I am able to nurture fallow ground.  Today?  It could have been better, I see that my plan of action was not clearly developed or committed.  So, one day at a time, I accept the what-is-ness of life and move on, taking in the lessons of the journey and hopefully responding to them.  

Today, I am so grateful for step two ...

Came ...

Came to ...

Came to believe .... and that has made all the difference! 

Namaste' 

Cate

Stuff

This plate is filled with food,
I am aware that each morsel is the fruit of much
hard work
by those who produced it.
-THICH NHAT HANH

So often it is the simplest of thoughts that breaks me into awareness and awe ... the avacado I ate for supper ... did I remember the person who planted the seed?  who watered the plant?  who picked the fruit?  who packaged it so carefully?  who drove it to my town?  omg ... the many people it took to get this wonderful fruit to my table ... that alone fills me with wonder ... with awe ... with gratitude.  This simple awareness is a prayer to behold! 
Oh ... that I may live in this awareness more and more in these passing days!!

In a part of the Movie "I Am"  they said:

"We have these foundational notions of our relationship to stuff
in our culture ... the truth is if you are naked and cold  at night, outdoors  and all alone in the forest and its raining, you are unhappy.  We can all agree on that.  And if someone opens the door and says come on in, here is a fire you can sit next to, here are clothes you can put on, here is a warm place to sleep, here is a bowl of soup....suddenly you go from being unhappy to happy with very little stuff, but it is stuff that makes the difference, just like that.  So, that is the truth.  The lie is that if this stuff makes you this happy, then ten times as much stuff will make you ten times happier, 100 times as much stuff will make you 100 times happier, 1000 times as much stuff will make you 1000 times happier ...   people are driven to accumulate, accumulate, accumulate, without asking the queston, will this make me happy or not?"

I think about that little avacado, so carefully cared about by so many,
and how happy it makes me feel to be aware of the simple and complex wonder if this little fruit!

I pray for awareness and simplicity ... what do you pray for this day?

Namaste'  Cate

New Years Day

I remember with gratitude the fruits of the labors of
others, which I have shared as a part of the normal
experience of daily living.

I remember the beutiful things that I have seen, heard,
and felt - some, as a result of definate seeking on my
part, and many that came unheralded into my path,
warming my heart and rejoicing my spirit.

I remember the moments of distress that proved to be
groundless and those that taught me profoundly about
the evilness of evil and the goodness of good.

I remember the new people I have met, from whom I
have caught glimpses of the meaning of my own life
and the true character of human dignity.

I remember the dreams that haunted me during the
year, keeping me ever mindful of goals and hopes
which I did not realize but from which I drew
inspiration to sustain my life and keep steady my
purposes.

I remembe the awareness of the spirit of God
that sought me out in my aloneness and gave to
me a sense of assurance that undercut my
despair and confirmed my life with new courage and
abiding hope.
                -Howard Thurman, "Blessings at Year End"

Thank You  Howard, for reminding me that in all, there is
blessing and invitation.
Thank You friends, for reminding me always to lean into
the wind and to journey arm in arm down the many roads
before me.
Thank You Mother Nature for showing me the cycle of life,
and the beauty and wonder in each and every day.
Thank You recovery, for keeping me alive and available
to be present to the gift of all.
Thank You God, for this gift of life, Please guide me to cherish
this gift and use it in accordance with your call.

Love, Cate