The great blue heron
steps into the pond,
one step, exactly where she intends,
thoughtful, graceful, watching.
She knows the way to the Caribbean,
and has seen the northern tundra,
but now she is here.
As readily as she attends
to the magnetic streams of earth
and the ancient skyward pathways,
now she watches this pond,
the waves of motion beneath,
the glimmers of life here and there, all of them.
Her wisdom is not understanding
but attention, pure presence,
here in this breeze, under this sun
and these heron-colored clouds.
The resting frog, the shadowy fish,
the snake hiding in the reeds
all are within her gaze.
Without her willing them to be there,
they are there, and she watches them.
The humans passing by,
the drifting of the clouds,
the rotation of the earth,
the movement of the stars through the ages
all are in her stillness, in her gaze.
Her watching encompasses everything;
her listening goes out into all the world.
Serene Adept,
she takes a second step.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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I don’t offer up my prayers to God;
God offers them to me.
It’s like picking basil;
there are so many leaves,
offering themselves to me;
I won’t take them all,
but pluck the best.
My prayers don’t rise up to God
like incense; they are like
the aroma of basil rising up to me.
I savor it as I pick each leaf
and put it in a paper bag to dry.
After my morning prayers,
all day long,
my hands smell of sweet basil.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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             Do not work for the food that perishes,
             but for the food that endures for eternal life.
                        —John 6.27

How much do we work for comfort,
for reputation, for feeling we’re in control,
for having our expectations affirmed,
for being right?
How much of that will matter on your deathbed?

What people think of you will perish.
All your accomplishments will disappear.
But the love you leave behind will endure,
because it is part of God, and therefore eternal.

Let your labor be to receive God’s love
and give it all away,
and the God of Life will feed you abundantly.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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             They said to him,
             “What must we do to perform the works of God?”
             Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God,
             that you believe in him whom God has sent.”

                         —John 6.28-29
This is my prayer, O Love,
not that I believe anything about you,
but that I believe in you, trust in you:
I entrust my life to you.
I let you have my life
and you live in it;
you move in me like my deepest urges.
I am your ship and you are my captain.
I am the muscle and you are the nerve.
I trust you; heal my distrust.
Possess me, that all of my life
may be the works of God.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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             You desire truth in the inward being;
             therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
                         —Psalm 51.6
O Thou Great Beholding,
You who know what is hidden,
who see and are not deceived:

your judgment is not harsh, but revealing;
not condemning but discerning;
you do not “pass judgment;” you simply see clearly.

Grant me clarity,
to behold what I have denied,
to see how I have deceived myself.

What I have misunderstood, reveal;
what is unconscious, unveil;
bring my shadows into your light.

Give me wisdom to behold my belovedness,
and how I have betrayed it,
and how it remains.

Help me to see myself through your eyes,
with honesty, mercy, and love,
and to live in harmony with that grace.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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God, give me the gift of true hope:
not optimistic speculation,
not desperately wishing you would intervene,
nor some smug assumption
things will turn out as I want them to;
but deep trust in the grace at the heart of all things,
and, releasing all attachment to outcomes,
acting with faith and courage in harmony with that grace.
Amen.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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             The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
             They saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat,
             and they were terrified.
             But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
                         —Mark 6.18-20

What dark night has the Loving One entered
when you thought you were struggling alone?

What rough seas has the Beloved walked across
to be with you?

What storms has the Calm One walked through
with peace to give you?

Peace; be still. The Faithful One
will do it again.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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Walking near the shore
I knew I was too near piping plover nests
because a bird dive-bombed me,
pooping on me.
She was trying to scare me away,
with the only thing she had at hand.

When people do or say things to make you feel bad,
that don’t offer any information or perspective,
but are only intended to make you feel like shit,
don’t take it literally; they’re just throwing their own poop.
They’re afraid, and defending something important to them
with all they have access to: their fear and bitterness.

You don’t need to avoid them—
but don’t fling back.
Just know they’re feeling threatened and at a loss;
and be curious what is so dear to them;
and look for ways to help them use words instead of poop.

Meanwhile duck as you can,
and, if you need to, carry an umbrella.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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Times are hard. News is bad. The need is huge.
Climate, politics, racism, refugees, violence—
it can seem overwhelming. What can one person do?

             “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.
             But what are they among so many people?”

There is no answer, no magic power, no silver bullet.
There is no hero, no savior, no messiah.
Only your willingness, and the synergy of God.

            From the fragments of the five barley loaves,
            left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. (John 6.9, 13)

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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Sometimes you set down
the hammer and trowel of your prayers
and sleep under the stars unsheltered,
possibility your only roof.
Sometimes you lay your forehead against the silence
and close your eyes.
Sometimes you walk out along the prairie
listening to that sound
for miles and miles.
Sometimes you curl up in bed with God
and just hold each other.
Sometimes you lay your hand on a rock
long enough for it to feel your pulse
and know everything about you.
Sometimes you imagine the stars
looking up at you
and you are humbled and calmed.
Sometimes you walk among green living things
and you are one of them.
Sometimes you hold your hand out
and the bird never comes
and the stillness is beautiful,
and you go inside,
and even later you walk around
with that stillness in your hand.

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