Dear Friends,
We hope that you are safe and well.
In today's Meditation Joyce Rupp listens to the messages that she hears all of life speaking to her.
We invite you to join us as we commit ourselves to working tirelessly to end systemic and structural racism in our society, in the church, in healthcare, in the workplace--wherever it shows up so that everyone may come to have more abundant life. May this meditation nourish our contemplative-active hearts and sustain all of us in action.
In the spirit of our philosophy of co-creating community and our awareness that the Spirit speaks through each of us, we invite you to share your meditations with us as well. We truly believe that it is God's economy of abundance: when we share our blessings, our thoughts, our feelings, we are all made richer.
We hope and pray that you find peace, healing, hope and the infusion of joy in your life!
With our love and care,
Ron and Jean
MEDITATION 712: Joyce Rupp muses: All of Life Speaks a Message to Us
Reflection - July 2022
A lot has been circling my mind/heart during June but no one central theme has emerged. Thus, I’m going to share a few thoughts I’ve jotted in my daily journal. Perhaps you will find some part of your life’s experience reflected within them.
A Perfect Nautilus
Upon seeing the eight-inch nautilus shell in perfect condition, no cracks or damaged edges, I marveled at the exquisite beauty. Only later, after reading “The Gift,” a Mary Oliver poem about finding a Neptune shell, did the real impact astonish me of how the nautilus came to shore: “I thought of its travels/in the Atlantic’s/wind-pounded bowl/and wondered/that it was still intact.” I never considered how those beauty-laden shells endure rough waters, jagged stones, lashing waves, before reaching their final destination on a sandy shore. I had not reflected on my life and that of others as being somewhat similar—the turbulent troubles, the jagged sorrows, the hurts that batter our inward being—how we, too, arrive each day amazingly intact on the shore of each sunrise.
Never Satisfied
One of my joys is sitting by the Des Moines river to observe the blue herons. I let my mind drift to their behaviors, imagining their minds conjuring up some of our human thoughts:
The blue heron has landed on the sand bar, folded his wide wings close to his thin body, stands silently observing his watery surroundings. A large pelican lifts, soars above the river, black-tipped feathers floating, a dreamy white cloud in flight. The heron with wings of breath-taking blue sighs, “I wish mine were pure and white.” A moment later, he gazes again with envy at the pelican and groans, “I need to put on some weight.”
Paying Attention
I continually relearn how little it takes to draw forth my joy if I will remember to be alert to the simplest, easily missed pieces of the day. I call these “contemplative pauses” on my daily walks. This is when I stop to take in the scene near me with my physical senses.
One soft-plumaged thrush on the woods’ grassy floor, carefully selecting each dry blade of grass to create her nest, and one wild, female turkey moving with stealthy gracefulness behind the focused thrush—this is all I need for the day to carry a golden glow in my spirit.
Feast of the Visitation - Seeds of Transformation
Mary, the young woman and Elizabeth, the older one. Both bear seeds of life capable of transforming those with open hearts and minds. I find both women reflected within me: a young spirit and an aging body. I, too, bear the seeds of transformation. Let it be done to me.
Abundant peace,
Joyce Rupp
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All Events Related to Boundless Compassion are now posted on www.boundlesscompassion.org
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I Place My Trust In You: Prayers in Times of Suffering,
Joyce Rupp
Physical pain, cancer, surgery, depression relationship struggles, aging issues—these prayers and more are in this small booklet of 16 pages. Fits easily into a pocket or purse. Available from the Servite Bookstore.
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Walk In A Relaxed Manner
If you have read this book on my experience of walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, or if you have walked this amazing journey yourself, you may be interested in some lovely painted Camino greeting cards by Melinda Jackson. She includes comments
about the Camino with the cards.
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Much gratitude to those of you who have taken the time to write reviews
of my books on Amazon.com