The best thing for you, my children, is to serve God from your heart without falsehood or deception, not giving out to people that you are one thing while, God forbid, in your heart you are another. Say your prayers with awe and devotion
Tracks
What inexpressible joy for me, to look up through the apple-blossoms and the fluttering leaves, and to see God’s love there; to listen to the thrush that has built his nest among them, and to feel God’s love, who cares for the birds, in every note that swells his little throat; to look beyond to the bright blue depths of the sky, and feel they are a canopy of blessing, — the roof of the house of my Father, that if clouds pass over it, it is the unchangeable light they veil; that, even when the day itself passes, I shall see that the night itself only unveils new worlds of light; and to know that if I could unwrap fold after fold of God’s universe, I should only unfold more and more blessing, and see deeper and deeper into the love which is at the heart of it all.
I love the dark hours of my being in which my senses drop into the deep
Life is surpassingly interesting, revealing, and awe provoking when we show up for it wholeheartedly and pay attention to the particulars.
Awe is what moves us forward.
Morning Prayer June 6
Love break like dawn across my heart. When I have grown shy and quiet, let me find the song that recalls me to my whole self, the laughter that grounds me once again and grows my heart strong and ready to give generously once more. Love steal upon me out of the shadowed places so that I must stop in awe and wonder, amazed anew by this day, the beauty of this life, the blessings that we turn away from and tune out, and the joy of turning once again back to you. Love, here is my heart, already yours; teach me in the day how to use it well and wisely, how to risk it faithfully and how to give all it may give. Amen.
Awe for Gratitude
In the linked Tapestry of Faith session, children are invited to create a gratitude list, to name the people they are grateful for. This is a splendid practice, as it connects us to people we can take for granted. If our list is short, then perhaps we have more to do in reaching out and being a reason for others to be grateful, growing new relationships. If our list is long, then we have many reasons to be thankful.
A follow-up activity I enjoy: focus on one person on your list and write down why you’re thankful for them. If writing is difficult, tell a story, sing your reasons as a song, record some spoken word or signed messages and then share it with that person. If the person you’re grateful for has passed on, share the stories of why with another friend, family member, or spiritual companion.
Another reason we turn logical with our gratitude is that it is terrifying. The wonder of a moment in which there is nothing but an upwelling of simple happiness is utterly awesome. Gratitude is so close to the bone of life, pure and true, that it instantly stops the rational mind, and all its planning and plotting. That kind of let go is fiercely threatening. I mean, where might such gratitude end?
(Source: spiritualityandpractice.com)
What are your stories of awe & wonder?
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Everyone has at least one story of awe and wonder. I try to collect new ones out of my experiences every day. Wow! the bald eagle was right there, in front of us! Wow! a rainbow! Wow! this coffee is delicious! Wow! You gave yourself in that smile! Wow! That was love! Wow! that was generosity! Wow! That was devotion!
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Wow! Ahhh! Stories of awe and wonder pull us back up out diving deep into despair and cynicism. Why? We regain the holy ground of gratitude. We reenter the miracle of being. We become living poetry.
The sacred” refers to an inward, mysterious sense of awesome presence, a reality deeper than the kind we ordinarily experience. Life bears within it the possibility of inner transcendence; the moments when we glimpse it are so rare and powerful that they call upon us to transform the rest of our lives in their wake.
