Open To The Year Retreat - Evening Meditative Experience 2

 

Starting With Mary, Involving Us

As always, be here, be present. Breath deeply, becoming aware of your body. Whenever your mind wanders, ever so gently bring it back to this present moment."

Returning to Friday evening and most of Saturday, we listen once more to Mary's question: 

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" 

Her poems Wild Geese and The Journey give pointers, helping us to grow into our own answers. We start with Mary, but very soon we are totally involved. And by we, we refer to ourselves, other poets, people all over the world.

The wonderful poet in his own right, David Whyte, reads Mary's The Journey in the following recording. 

(It must be Melanie Lutz's little dog, that sometimes seems to be dead. The Melanie who was listening to David Whyte, was busy recording him while watching her little dog and posted the video. Mary would've loved the little dog, filling the screen)

In the latter part of the retreat the focus was on prayer as an element in Mary's poetry. It is good to hear her reading one of her poems on the subject, I Happened To Be Standing:

(A lady from India posted the video, with the images as background to Mary's voice, attesting to that. Her poems are being read all over the world)

Mary's advice on praying:

"Just Pay Attention, Then Patch
A Few Words Together And Don't Try

To Make Them Elaborate..."

Paying heed to her, prayers from retreatants:

Words

Walking through words on white
This language takes us to 
another place
New ideas
And other landscapes
Unthought of possibilities

Gazing outwards
We see the world
All beauty, joy
Pain and devastation
Our gaze turns inward
We see the mess and chaos
Mixed up with light and music

All is loved

Perfect in imperfection

                                                                            - Estrella Paterson

~ ❖ ~

Enoughness

I bend to weed

between the flowers

and slowly slide down

to lie between Zinnia towers.

My arm under my head

I inhale earth into

the weight of me

warm sun caressing.

Insects song

wondering about

this strangeness, 

lull me to slumber.

The Enoughness

of just This

                                                                           - Monique Winn

~ ❖ ~

                                                                                  - Heather Griffin

~ ❖ ~

What is mine to do.. 

to step out of the margins of my heart, 

over new thresholds and into beckoning  spaces 

that are calling me 

to love more, trust more and live more

                                                                                    - Gesine Buiten

~ ❖ ~

                                                                                        - Matilda Angus

~ ❖ ~

Watching the early morning raindrops fall... 

I catches the curtain softly moving and I am aware of You...

                                                                                   - Lindie Bunton

~ ❖ ~

You change

a silent night into

a holy one

quiet compositions stir my heart

You change

everyday washing water into

a most special wine

slowly, mysteriously the inward must out

change also

my silence, my everyday into

a wild and precious life

bursting with grateful awareness

                                                                            - Anne Pretorius

~ ❖ ~

The swallows at our bedroom window are old fashioned.

They still have one of those rotary phones.

While making the bed, I hear them dialing.

They must be phoning someone they love,

somebody with whom they share the joys of life.

They usually do it when they are happy,

sitting in the early sun.

In standing still, listening to them,

I dial the number.

                                                                                - George Angus 

~ ❖ ~

I don’t know if animals & trees,  and rivers and stars can pray. 

But I do know that when I pay attention, 

prayers just bubble up & I realise that actually all of life is a prayer 

                                                                            - Heather Davies

Heather adds:

This song, ‘Creator God’ (one of my favourites) also just backs up the awareness that God is in every part of creation & our lives.

~ ❖ ~

Our prayer for you on your journey, the beautiful blessing from Deut 33:13-16 (The Message)

Blessed by God be [your] land:

The best fresh dew from high heaven,

and fountains springing from the depths;

The best radiance streaming from the sun

and the best the moon has to offer;

Beauty pouring off the tops of the mountains

and the best from the everlasting hills;

The best of Earth’s exuberant gifts,

the smile of the Burning-Bush Dweller.

The grace, love and intimacy of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, will be with you.‬‬

Much love. 

George & Matilda