“The sacred” isn’t a phrase I connect with personally. I have at times felt a connection to a sense of the universe in all its infinity. It was overwhelming, beyond the limits of what my mind could grasp. The second I tried to recognize what I was sensing I brought it down to human scale, which meant it was no longer everything in every direction forever.
I often feel part of something larger than myself without that overwhelming scale. That sense of being part of life, knowing I came from and will return to atoms that have been/will be many other things. The poem below is one of several I’ve saved in a document for my daughters.
It Is Enough
Anne Alexander Bingham
To know that the atoms
of my body
will remain
to think of them rising
through the roots of a great oak
to live in
leaves, branches, twigs
perhaps to feed the
crimson peony
the blue iris
the broccoli
or rest on water
freeze and thaw
with the seasons
some atoms might become a
bit of fluff on the wing
of a chickadee
to feel the breeze
know the support of air
and some might drift
up and up into space
star dust returning from
whence it came
it is enough to know that
as long as there is a universe
I am a part of it.
All is sacred . . .
it’s just that sometimes
we have to look a little more deeply to find it.
What a terrible thing to say
when we see so much evil afoot in the world,
when we are shocked each day by news that is more horrific
than yesterday’s,
but I stick my neck out a little bit
and say
that somewhere in the evil that seems to be consuming the world,
the sacred is to be found . . .
somewhere.
I’m much better at prying it out than I used to be,
but I am challenged to my limit these days.
The death and the destruction,
the cruelty of many in power,
the sheer lack of empathy or compassion
do not connect me with a sense of the sacred.
So I don’t seek it there . . .
it’s too hard.
Hurricanes, tornadoes,
fires, floods,
pestilence and diseases,
tsunamis and blizzards
all destroy land and lives . . .
they are cruel and relentless.
They have no empathy or compassion
but I am still able to acknowledge them as sacred.
I respect them,but don’t go to them either
for a sense of connection.
I go to humbler,
more compassionate places . . .
sources that are more easily accessible
for my primitive human brain to accept and understand.
It’s the ‘seed’ that Joseph spoke of,
the ‘electric pulse’ that Charlie talks about,
the spark of life,
which is a mystery to us all . . .
good places to start.
The vastness of the universe
and the endless sky of stars
all remind me to be attentive
and in awe
of the real powers that be.
The complex workings
that keep the tiniest being alive
and the inherent knowledge the birds have
to bring their young into the world . . .
it’s all utterly amazing.
I simply can’t take these things for granted.
I know better,
and at some level
we all do. ♥
I will be interested to read what all of you have to share about this.
I have not felt particularly connected to the sense of the sacred for a while,
especially not today. Often I feel more joy than I am feeling now.
I am in need of some inspiration.
I can lift myself up. I’m just not feeling it today.
I’ll do some art today. That usually helps.
I’ll give myself a pass on not being more positive.
This is me today.
———————————————————————
Adding on to my post after reading some of your shares.
Joane’s post reminded me that each day
(and each moment) can be a new beginning.
I’m feeling this!
A feeling of being lifted up, perhaps grace.
I am beginning today again.
I’m feeling joy.
I didn’t do this myself.
I read Joane’s post and it was as if a switch was flipped.
As Antoinette often says, Thank you, Universe.
I’m not sure who I’m thanking, but I will say God.
Thank you God, for restoring my joy.
Dear Mary ,
Hello from the main center in Korea – with Covid . 😷
It is great you see you don’t have to pretend to be anything other than where you are . Many people pretend their whole lives and hide their feelings and thoughts under the rug. As wel know a dead fish under the rug isn’t going to smell good ever ! So this is just seeing what is coming up in the mind and letting it come up . Letting go is also not easy especially without a method because our minds are full of thoughts and feelings which drag us all over the place .
Hence the saying-
Let go or be dragged.
So good for you to start again in this very moment the only moment there is available. That also says happiness is available to you right here and now help yourself to it. ( I love that) it’s when we are not lost in our emotions and and thoughts we can come into the present moment and see what is happening. We can become happy and grateful naturally due to natures flow which is the universe or God.
The universe is always alive and never changing its our origin. That’s our home . Hugs Mary . But at least I can’t give you Covid 😷! 😂
Thank you Antoinette for your positive outlook on me sharing
that I felt down and not particularly spiritual this morning.
I value authenticity in others, so I try to be authentic myself.
I am grateful to you for sharing that you also value this.
Love and hugs to you, dear Antoinette. 💕
It felt like a miracle, Sparrow.
I was feeling very low.
And I wasn’t even trying to feel better.
I read the image Joane painted of what it is like to get up at 4AM,
and my low feeling turned into hope and joy.
I can’t explain what happened.
It was pure gift.
Nature. The night sky.
Contemplating the electrical pulse that’s in all living things and how it’s been passed through from one being to the next, through the eons and resides in me. And you.
Happy Sunday! I hope it is a day of rest and relaxation for all of you here in this wonderful community.
My dear Charlie T, you are a kindred spirit and your words have been a balm to me many times. Thank you for being here. This site is such a blessing in our lives. It is indeed a sacred space.
Letting go of backstage politics, agendas, and string-pulling helps me humble down and see the value in how my root people care for me over my relationship with Ngoc even if I don’t agree with the methods. I’ve struggled with a couple women before. Long story short. One was a 2-faced cheerful charmer. The other one when great lengths just to have me. Both had a sweet voice but the first one even more so. Between the lesser of the 2 evils, I choose the 2nd one, because it’s more visable. The 2 happened to be besties too.
Paw Mu was good. It’s just incompatible methods. We were same Asian roots with different trunks and branches. It’s not meant to go the distance. Letting go of agendas backstage politics, and string-pulling also helps me appreciate her style of care too. She was the first one and used that Asian style with me more. In other words, the seeds have been planted long long ago.
Ngoc’s in California this weekend for a Pearl of Heart show. She’ll return home tomorrow. All and all, by letting go of string pulling, backstage politics, and agendas, I’m able to see the value of my root people, life lessons and tough love from Paw Mu long ago, and quality time with Ngoc on a deeper level.
My senses connect me to Sacred and the Divine. I see the birds on the clothesline awaiting suit and the milkweed pods drying out awaiting cracking open with seeds for next year. I hear nearby children playing in their yards, and I smell food grilling and freshly mowed grass. I see texts and emails that came over night from others concern for me and the community here in Mpls and MN. My heart warms and stirs from all this stimuli. I breathe deep and know I have been given a new day of life. Gentle weekend Blessings All! 🌻☮️🦋
Meditation and stillness, music as well, both singing and playing and being with dear friends in one spirit, just to name a few. Also being in nature, being still and perceiving a new day when opening the window blinds, reading the questions and your replies here, when being in inner touch with the heart of all.
Everywhere I look I am surrounded by the miracle of life — animals, birds, insects, humans, trees, plants. Such diversity, even in my little corner of suburbia. It’s truly amazing.
We planted lavender in the front yard and didn’t anticipate the wealth of pollinators that visit. I’ve seen types of bees and moths I’ve never seen before, it’s such a pleasure.
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“The sacred” isn’t a phrase I connect with personally. I have at times felt a connection to a sense of the universe in all its infinity. It was overwhelming, beyond the limits of what my mind could grasp. The second I tried to recognize what I was sensing I brought it down to human scale, which meant it was no longer everything in every direction forever.
I often feel part of something larger than myself without that overwhelming scale. That sense of being part of life, knowing I came from and will return to atoms that have been/will be many other things. The poem below is one of several I’ve saved in a document for my daughters.
It Is Enough
Anne Alexander Bingham
To know that the atoms
of my body
will remain
to think of them rising
through the roots of a great oak
to live in
leaves, branches, twigs
perhaps to feed the
crimson peony
the blue iris
the broccoli
or rest on water
freeze and thaw
with the seasons
some atoms might become a
bit of fluff on the wing
of a chickadee
to feel the breeze
know the support of air
and some might drift
up and up into space
star dust returning from
whence it came
it is enough to know that
as long as there is a universe
I am a part of it.
Yes,
dear Barb . . .
that is a part
of what I was trying to say. ♥
Wow Barb that’s lovely! Thank you for sharing 💓
All is sacred . . .
it’s just that sometimes
we have to look a little more deeply to find it.
What a terrible thing to say
when we see so much evil afoot in the world,
when we are shocked each day by news that is more horrific
than yesterday’s,
but I stick my neck out a little bit
and say
that somewhere in the evil that seems to be consuming the world,
the sacred is to be found . . .
somewhere.
I’m much better at prying it out than I used to be,
but I am challenged to my limit these days.
The death and the destruction,
the cruelty of many in power,
the sheer lack of empathy or compassion
do not connect me with a sense of the sacred.
So I don’t seek it there . . .
it’s too hard.
Hurricanes, tornadoes,
fires, floods,
pestilence and diseases,
tsunamis and blizzards
all destroy land and lives . . .
they are cruel and relentless.
They have no empathy or compassion
but I am still able to acknowledge them as sacred.
I respect them,but don’t go to them either
for a sense of connection.
I go to humbler,
more compassionate places . . .
sources that are more easily accessible
for my primitive human brain to accept and understand.
It’s the ‘seed’ that Joseph spoke of,
the ‘electric pulse’ that Charlie talks about,
the spark of life,
which is a mystery to us all . . .
good places to start.
The vastness of the universe
and the endless sky of stars
all remind me to be attentive
and in awe
of the real powers that be.
The complex workings
that keep the tiniest being alive
and the inherent knowledge the birds have
to bring their young into the world . . .
it’s all utterly amazing.
I simply can’t take these things for granted.
I know better,
and at some level
we all do. ♥
“I simply can’t take theses things for granted.
I know better,
and at some level we all do.”
The conditioned mind may still be in denial. Be nice if all would care to know better. Thank you dear Sparrow.
Richard Rohr said today that of all he’s taught and learned living in the now is the most helpful.
I will be interested to read what all of you have to share about this.
I have not felt particularly connected to the sense of the sacred for a while,
especially not today. Often I feel more joy than I am feeling now.
I am in need of some inspiration.
I can lift myself up. I’m just not feeling it today.
I’ll do some art today. That usually helps.
I’ll give myself a pass on not being more positive.
This is me today.
———————————————————————
Adding on to my post after reading some of your shares.
Joane’s post reminded me that each day
(and each moment) can be a new beginning.
I’m feeling this!
A feeling of being lifted up, perhaps grace.
I am beginning today again.
I’m feeling joy.
I didn’t do this myself.
I read Joane’s post and it was as if a switch was flipped.
As Antoinette often says, Thank you, Universe.
I’m not sure who I’m thanking, but I will say God.
Thank you God, for restoring my joy.
Dear Mary ,
Hello from the main center in Korea – with Covid . 😷
It is great you see you don’t have to pretend to be anything other than where you are . Many people pretend their whole lives and hide their feelings and thoughts under the rug. As wel know a dead fish under the rug isn’t going to smell good ever ! So this is just seeing what is coming up in the mind and letting it come up . Letting go is also not easy especially without a method because our minds are full of thoughts and feelings which drag us all over the place .
Hence the saying-
Let go or be dragged.
So good for you to start again in this very moment the only moment there is available. That also says happiness is available to you right here and now help yourself to it. ( I love that) it’s when we are not lost in our emotions and and thoughts we can come into the present moment and see what is happening. We can become happy and grateful naturally due to natures flow which is the universe or God.
The universe is always alive and never changing its our origin. That’s our home . Hugs Mary . But at least I can’t give you Covid 😷! 😂
Thank you Antoinette for your positive outlook on me sharing
that I felt down and not particularly spiritual this morning.
I value authenticity in others, so I try to be authentic myself.
I am grateful to you for sharing that you also value this.
Love and hugs to you, dear Antoinette. 💕
“Let go or be dragged”–that’s a keeper, Antoinette!
Sometimes,
dear Mary,
that’s all it takes . . .
one ‘little’ thing.
I am happy that you feel restored. ♥
It felt like a miracle, Sparrow.
I was feeling very low.
And I wasn’t even trying to feel better.
I read the image Joane painted of what it is like to get up at 4AM,
and my low feeling turned into hope and joy.
I can’t explain what happened.
It was pure gift.
Nature. The night sky.
Contemplating the electrical pulse that’s in all living things and how it’s been passed through from one being to the next, through the eons and resides in me. And you.
Happy Sunday! I hope it is a day of rest and relaxation for all of you here in this wonderful community.
Praying, reading scripture, meditating, practicing yoga, walking outdoors, trees, flowers, birds, bees, farm land, fields & pastures, cows, horses, the stars, moon, sun, the Pacific ocean, Lake Michigan, Redwood Trees, music, cello & violin, children’s faces & their laughter, poetry…………….
For me the Divine is everywhere. ✨
🕊️♥️
I think, being human.
Vulnerability…when I am willing to be vulnerable, I have a greater sense of the sacred. I share one of my poems:
Willing to Be Vulnerable by Carol Ann Conner
WE rant and we rave
and we judge and we joke.
We laugh and we cry
We jab and we poke
at life
To feel is scary,
because we have been told
it is weakness.
It is scary
because it requires vulnerability.
Being vulnerable is challenging.
It demands
feeling our wounds
and loving our fears
to death.
So I come to the foot of the cross
on which vulnerability hangs.
I hear the words
“Father, forgive them
they know not what they do.”
I know my job is willingness.
I know the willingness
to be vulnerable
changes one’s passion
into compassion.
Let those who have eyes to see
and ears to hear
be the compassionate vulnerability
that brings healing
to a troubled world.
Thank you for this brush with the sacred Carol Ann.
Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your poem… it’s beautiful!
What a beautiful poem,
dear Carol Ann . . .
I believe you have touched
what is sacred. ♥
Sparrow, Thank you.
Thank you, Carol. As usual, your words are a balm. 🙏
My dear Charlie T, you are a kindred spirit and your words have been a balm to me many times. Thank you for being here. This site is such a blessing in our lives. It is indeed a sacred space.
I think the ocean.
Yes, Christina, the ocean is magnificent.
Thank you Mary.
You are most welcome, Christina.
I live about 15 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.
There is nothing like it.
Letting go of backstage politics, agendas, and string-pulling helps me humble down and see the value in how my root people care for me over my relationship with Ngoc even if I don’t agree with the methods. I’ve struggled with a couple women before. Long story short. One was a 2-faced cheerful charmer. The other one when great lengths just to have me. Both had a sweet voice but the first one even more so. Between the lesser of the 2 evils, I choose the 2nd one, because it’s more visable. The 2 happened to be besties too.
Paw Mu was good. It’s just incompatible methods. We were same Asian roots with different trunks and branches. It’s not meant to go the distance. Letting go of agendas backstage politics, and string-pulling also helps me appreciate her style of care too. She was the first one and used that Asian style with me more. In other words, the seeds have been planted long long ago.
Ngoc’s in California this weekend for a Pearl of Heart show. She’ll return home tomorrow. All and all, by letting go of string pulling, backstage politics, and agendas, I’m able to see the value of my root people, life lessons and tough love from Paw Mu long ago, and quality time with Ngoc on a deeper level.
My senses connect me to Sacred and the Divine. I see the birds on the clothesline awaiting suit and the milkweed pods drying out awaiting cracking open with seeds for next year. I hear nearby children playing in their yards, and I smell food grilling and freshly mowed grass. I see texts and emails that came over night from others concern for me and the community here in Mpls and MN. My heart warms and stirs from all this stimuli. I breathe deep and know I have been given a new day of life. Gentle weekend Blessings All! 🌻☮️🦋
“…I have been given a new day of life”
I am feeling this, Carla!
☀️☀️☀️
Poetry, beauty, being in the high alpine, swimming in a lake or the ocean, ritual, and sometimes just remembering that the sacred is always within.
Yes! I recently swam in a high mountain lake, and just the thought of it feels like an embrace.
Meditation and stillness, music as well, both singing and playing and being with dear friends in one spirit, just to name a few. Also being in nature, being still and perceiving a new day when opening the window blinds, reading the questions and your replies here, when being in inner touch with the heart of all.
An author called ut an emergency beauty time. Being awe struck, stop, and share.
Everywhere I look I am surrounded by the miracle of life — animals, birds, insects, humans, trees, plants. Such diversity, even in my little corner of suburbia. It’s truly amazing.
We planted lavender in the front yard and didn’t anticipate the wealth of pollinators that visit. I’ve seen types of bees and moths I’ve never seen before, it’s such a pleasure.