Today I will conjure love from the empty air.
Steven Charleston
I will call it out from thin places
Where people walk without breathing
From dark places where they stumble without seeing.
I will find love in those I do not like
And let love appear in the faces I avoid.
I will make room for love in my life
Even if I feel overcrowded with worry.
I will offer love without restraint
Even if I have not received love in return.
I will dance with love in innocent pleasure.
I will sing love as though love were a new discovery.
Today I will be the love Spirit made me be
When Spirit loved me from the empty air.
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Tell the Tale
It feels like we are living in a time of apocalypse,
Steven Charleston, We Survived the End of the World: Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope
an age when everything we take for granted is starting to collapse around us.
It feels like the end of the world.…
This situation is nothing new for me as a Native American.
My ancestors already lived through an apocalypse.…
Native American culture in North America has been through the collapse of civilization
and lived to tell the tale. -
Discovering Life
Sometimes on the spiritual path
Steven Charleston, Spirit Wheel
It is more fun to walk beside a seeker than a true believer.
I have no quarrel with those who are certain they know
Exactly where they are going on the path of faith
But often their questions are few and their stories familiar.
It is when you listen to the seeker’s vision
That things can come alive.
Questions and doubts, longings and hopes
Experiences both difficult and transcendent:
It sounds very honest to me.
And very human.
If you are a seeker, I will be proud to walk beside you
Discovering life as we go.It was such a beautiful day yesterday that I made a trip to Pineridge Natural Area for a bit of quiet and to soak up the sun. I wanted and needed both. This morning is just as lovely with blue skies and sunshine. The Canada Geese are filling the airwaves as they migrate to their winter spots. After my quiet time and a bowl of Irish Oats with blueberries and pecans, I met Eric for coffee and conversation. I saw one eagle and half a dozen hawks on my drive over there and back. Undoubtedly they were seeking a meal. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
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Happy Halloween!
Let me embrace each dawn as gift.
Steven Charleston, Spirit Wheel
Let me walk the hours of day unafraid
With grace and faith unbounded.
Let evening find me close to those I love
Warming my soul by the fires of their laughter.
Let me sleep believing tomorrow will be a blessing.We had our first snowfall last night. I awoke to a heavy fog and mist this morning. There was a dusting of snow on rooftops and frost on windshields. I agree each morning is a blessing whether a brilliant sunrise or fog and mist. And, my walk through today will include lunch with my oldest daughter, Christine, reading a new book and journaling time. Seems to be that kind of day. Happy Halloween!
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You are a light…
Let me honor you today with the respect you deserve.
Steven Charleston
Let me acknowledge you as a person
Who has worth and value.
Our world would be diminished without you.
Our journey would seem longer.
You bless us with your presence.
You make a difference in our lives.
We need you.
There are many who would stand to say this with me.
You are loved.
I know you well enough to understand
That you do not expect
Or even want to hear this kind of praise.
But I believe the spirit intends every human heart
To hear a simple truth: you are a light others can see.Today would have been my mothers 93rd birthday. I miss your light!
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Let me linger…
It may be a product of getting older
Steven Charleston, Spirit Wheel
But sometimes I want to stop time.
I want to make the sunsets last just a little longer.
I want the quiet mornings to go on and on
The laughter at the dinner table
To stretch out into a whole evening
The beauty of the clouds as they race
Across the valley to never end.
It is not that I want to freeze reality, just slow it down.
I want life to move as slowly as I do.
For I have learned that life moves far too fast as it is.
It is a joy that endures but briefly
Made of moments that pass as quickly as hummingbirds.
Let me linger in the love I feel.
Let me see the light for as long as I can.I stopped on my ride this evening because these daisies caught my eye. However, I was not the only one interested in the daisies as this bee busily flitted from flower to flower. So busy in fact, I never got a good infocus shot. Oh well. I watched and lingered and loved the moment.
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Experiences
Faith does not begin in what we imagine
Steven Charleston
But in what we experience.I am not able to explain my faith. I could try, but any words would fall short. However, experience has brought me to believe the sun will rise and set each day, even after I’ve taken my last breath. And, I believe the seed of these experiences change and transform me. Because somehow, when I returned to my car after watching a sunrise or sunset I believe I am a different man. I would try and explain that, but any words would fall short. And, it happens a lot.