What if

I have had one of my poems and quotes-series experiences again. Where all of a sudden I encounter poems and quotations on the same theme within days of each other. Usually it is an indication that I should take notice, or that I should pass it on. And so I do.

The theme that announced itself again this time around is the sacredness or holiness of ordinary everyday objects. One of my favourite subjects and definitely not new. But there must be a reason these words introduced themselves now. I share them gladly.

What if our religion was each other

If our practice was our life

If prayer, our words

What if the temple was the Earth

If forests were our church

If holy water--the rivers, lakes, and ocean

What if meditation was our relationships

If the teacher was life

If wisdom was self-knowledge

If love was the center of our being.

                                                                         ~ Ganga White

Knysna Forest. Photograph by George Angus

Be. Here. This Moment. Now is all there is, don’t go seeking another. Discover the sacred in your artist’s tools, they are the vessels of the altar of your own unfolding. Look at this cup of holy water, washing clean the brushes. See the blank page, awaiting your blessing. Gaze on the colors before you, each one a name of God: Saffron, Cobalt, Azure, Ruby. Say each one slowly and taste its juice in your mouth. Let this be your prayer. Brush them across the page. First the small strokes, then the larger sweeps. Lose track of all time. This too is prayer. Listen for the words that rise up: Awaken. Envision. Sing. Alleluia. Place marks on the page saying I am here. Watch as word and image dance together. Luminous. Illuminated. This is your sacred text. This is where God’s words are spoken, sometimes in whispers, sometimes in shouts. Be there to catch them as they pass over those sacred lips, tumbling so generously into your open arms.

~ Christine Valters Paintner

Please, take your life, your words, your work, your experiences seriously. I am going to repeat it, because for some reason we do not believe it or take it seriously: Y-O-U-R life. Not that of some celebrity or saint. Yours. No, not your dressed-for-church-life. Your ordinary, daily life.

That is where God wants to be found.


George