Month: April 2016

         Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach;
                  but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
         Jesus said to them, “Dear children, you have no fish, have you?”
                  They answered him, “No.”
         He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat,
                  and you will find some.”
                           —John 21.4-5

The surface is always blank.
The real, submerged.

Look down into that sky,
where beneath a vague cloud flashes,

—is it above or below?—
created, given, waiting.

There is another way,
another side of your little boat.

Beneath your dreary, fruitless nights
something graced awaits,

abundance exceeding your capacity, blessing
at which you laugh in wonder and fright,

a gift that bears you to the breaking point,
a net swelled with light and glory,

and not by luck, but given in love: a presence,
a companionship you hadn’t recognized.

Heaven is offered, hearts are restored
in something as simple as a broiled fish, shared.

But first you learn a new way,
another side, the unrecognized friend.

And then, after the gift, the revelation,
you learn a new way, another side.

The Mystery doesn’t leave you.
It leads.
 

 

         
Days are longer now,
birds sing sweetly,
daffodils sway brightly,
and a storm dumps four inches of snow
and a tree on our house.
On the road
the sun on the deadly ice is brilliant.

Life mixes its metaphors.
Besides the snow in the driveway
I also need to shovel off
my notions of what ought to be.

On lovely spring days there are pallbearers,
and blessings in my failures.
Life is not under my management.
It is free, and dappled, not pure.

Life is this, not something else.
Pay attention.
Even God does not yet know
what’s in store before unfolding in it.
I release my designs
and receive this day as it is.
It will be holy enough.

______________________
Weather Report

A high pressure region evaporates forecasts
today and into tomorrow,
each moment unfolding
as it does, without label or category.
Expect the strong front of the present moment
to disregard our expectations
and develop into what it does.
The afternoon commute
will be one. You will arrive.
 

My eyes be yours,
that I see what is before me,
and the glory there.

My feet be yours,
that I trust this earth that holds me,
and find a path.

My ears be yours,
that I listen deeply to each one,
and hear you singing.

My hands be yours,
that giving or receiving, working or resting,
they hold you.

My breathing be yours,
that your infinite mercy
unfold in me.

My heart be yours,
that I laugh freely in joy
that is not mine alone.

My unknowing be yours,
for in this loving mystery
I belong.

 

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
                  
In anxiety,
the doors of your heart are locked.

But they protect inward space.
Open your inner spaciousness
for the Guest.
Don’t worry about your attitude;
just create space in your breathing,
in the actual sensations in your body,
for the Guest to be there.

Welcome him.
Pay attention to him.
Be present to him.
Feel the sensation of his breath in you.

Let him show you his wounds:
your fear, your anger, your shame, your grief.
There is enough love for you to bear it.
Simply let him be there.

Let him speak to you.
Let him set you free.
If you forgive anything, it is forgiven.
If you retain it, it is retained.
You can let the anxieties go.

He breathes his life into you.
Now you can pass through those doors,
at peace.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

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