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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             They went away in the boat to a deserted place.
             But many saw them and arrived ahead of them.
             And he had compassion for them,
             because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
                            —Mark 6.32-34

Jesus was headed for some solitude…
but, interrupted by a needy crowd,
he responded to them with compassion.
There’s a miracle right there.

How did that happen?
Previously, the disciples were out preaching.
Jesus was home, alone,
resting his soul in God.
He’d already gotten his solitude!

You are called to compassion,
even at difficult times.
So prepare ahead. Nourish your soul.
Seek solitude and renewal.
Root yourself in that infinite love,
that it may fill you.
Guard your heart, so that in the press of the moment
you are not weary but ready
with gentleness, mercy and healing.
Allow yourself to be loved,
so you are ready to love.
Tend your compassion,
for it will be needed.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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I have made my requests.
I have uttered my opinions
and stated my desires.
Now I silence myself
and reach out to You.
I reach out to your love,
your passion for the universe,
your delight in me.
I reach out to be part
of the grace-filled unfolding
of the world, of life, living.
I open myself to your infinite grace
that pours into me,
that flows around me.
I am part of the whirling of galaxies,
the searching of roots,
the labor of beetles,
generosity in the streets,
the offering of love.
I reach out to give and receive
all care, all delight,
all forgiveness, all healing.
I open the ears of my soul
to hear your Word, murmured.
I open the arms of my heart
and allow what comes.
I reach out, and I wait.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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              “Come away to a deserted place
             all by yourselves and rest a while.”

                            —Mark 6.31

Let go of what you need to do, what you have to do,
what you’re supposed to do. Let go.

All you do, all you accomplish, even the most life-giving,
is only a shadow of who you are.

Allow a deeper calling to have you,
a greater life to possess you.

Go to a deserted place all by yourself,
a place which is not a place but a time,

a time of spaciousness with lots of room
for the silence to open wide, where you can listen.

Spend time in that place inside yourself,
a place of solitude, where you are solely a soul.

Let an infinite delight create you again;
infinite love flow through you.

Let God’s primary joy, that you are,
become your primary joy.

Be at peace in that peace. Give it time.
Give it time. Let that be enough.

Then go out into the world,
a faithful steward of your holy being.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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Heat hugs you, holds you close, too close,
your face in its armpits,
presses with dense weight,
as at the bottom of a hot ocean,
clamps you with huge crab claws.
What you think of is escape.

God says,
“Even 93 million miles away,
I am always this close.”

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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Fear begets violence.
Blame becomes assault.

Projecting our fear of harm,
we harm others.
To keep our place in the world
we try to remove others.
But it never works:
attempting to destroy each other
we only damage the world.

To “form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, and insure domestic Tranquility,”
our first agreement has to be
to live together.
To accept the other, regardless of how vile.
To live, even side by side,
with those we fear and blame and revile.

For they are here;
the only way to be without them
is to be without life.

Our first agreement and our highest goal
is not how we shall win,
but how we shall live together.
For either we live together
or we do not live.

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