Ancient and New Rhythms

Musicians, writers, artists – each one had come to be creative, to let the artistry flow and to learn from each other. A friend has started her own Life Coaching business so she can specifically work with people who want to explore and live more deeply from their artists’ soul. The evening gathering was designed to let that creativity flow as the Spirit moved, hovered, whispered and beckoned.

The window of our soul is not the single pane of glass that is clear and defined by borders; rather the soul is like a stained glass window. Pieces, fragments, colour, materials to piece them together, woven with story, tears, pain, celebration and movement through each section.

Curled up on the soft sofa, my pen and journal were the etching medium for what flowed through my soul as 5 musicians created and released unwritten unrehearsed notes. Fragments and notes blended.

there is form
yet there are no lines
there is music
yet unwritten
words undefined
or articulated
a rhythm my body moves to
cannot remain still
in the presence of
i think of Africa
with this worship
this earthy rhythm
that vibrates the floor
urges my feet
my torso
to sway with
to connect
my body, head, and heart
with the rhythm of ancient paths
that call to my soul
that call out my soul
from form
into the mystery
of notes unheard, unwritten
blending, calling, urging
me to intimate sacred sensual space
to the call of One
Divine Desert Lover

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bles you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their
pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world.
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
Source Unknown

Thanks Mike for passing this along at The Whatever.

There Are No Words

“There are no words” was written on the thank you note. Plenty of good deep authentic dialogue had happened over the weeks she was here, thoughts and ideas were exchanged and threads in the weaving of our work together were placed into the pattern. Yet in the end the card said it all…words could not say how beautifully God had done much work in the time together.

In another scene during that week, Abby (not her real name) lay in the emergency room bed, her limbs in constant motion, her blood pressure and heart rate way above normal as the 2 day binge of crack/cocaine showed its effects on her body, mind and soul. She was so sorry, she wanted to start over, wanted to rewind to the 3 days before when she had been clean for 3 years. Yet at the same time she wanted to go back to those who would sit and use with her. “I just want to be happy” she spoke over and over. What would happy look like? Would it simply be that the voices in her head, the years of abuse, the addiction that began at age 8, be silenced and all would be still and clear? Yes, she replied – that was what happiness would look like. I asked her what made her stay alive all the other times she came to after these binges, looking for clues as to what hope would look like for her. The truth she explained is that she really does want to die; she hates life and doesn’t want to keep living with the pain that will not die.

I had no words. What can I say to that when I know the feeling? I know what brought me back to life but that was my whisper from God, and I had no words for what God alone could whisper to her. I could only stand silent, be present, hold her hand and trust that the Spirit could speak in that silence. Presence was all one could offer in the place where “there are no words.”

Being present is the greatest gift I have known in experiencing Holy Presence. The tangible sense that the Spirit is present within me, Jesus is present in the room and Abba is there as well, and They do not use words. But They are the Word – the Word that became flesh, the Word of true vibrant passionate LIFE.

In sharing this experience with a good friend, she said that when there are no words it is because only The Word, will do: that tangible presence of the Almighty who gives Light, the breath and the bread of life!

In sitting with this experience it is hard to write of it simply because words do not begin to reveal the depth, the height, the breadth and length of Their Presence.

…words are not enough.