Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Praying the mystery


Not much in the tank at present. I am praying for wisdom, trying to pause from thinking too much and so empty my mind. I need to stop the noise and listen to the still voice of the heart...praying the mystery

Paidraig (by the way, God was having a very good day when this lovely man was knit together - you will not find a kinder more gentle soul around) sent a beautiful prayer of Michael Leunig when he commented on my last post. It has taken me back into his work...this is all I have this week

Dear God
Let us prepare for winter.
The sun has turned away from us and the nest of summer hangs broken in a tree.
Life slips through our fingers and,
as darkness gathers,
our hands grow cold.
It is time for reflection and resonance.
It is time for contemplation.
Let us go inside.

AMEN.
(Michael Leunig - 'A Common Prayer: A cartoonist talks to God' Lion, 1990)

10 comments:

Nikita said...

Beautiful. Stay strong.

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

Thanks Niki, again in the words of Leunig, 'when we fall, let us fall inwards. let us fall freely and completely: that we may find our depth and humility: the solid earth from which we may rise up and love again.'

awareness said...

Beautiful words to capture the mood of winter thoughts ....... cocooning to contemplate while feeding from our personal stores.

Learning to understand the mysteries

Even the winter sun gives off a warming light if you manage to position yourself near a sunbeam shining through the window.

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

Hey Dana

Victor Hugo (who lived in our fair isle) once said that, 'one is not idle because one is absorbed. there is both visible and invisible labour. to contemplate is to toil, to think is to do. the crossed arms work, the clasped hands act. the eyes upturned to heaven are an act of creation

i think that is beautifully profound - i don't subscribe to the thought of giving ones self completly to contemplation, but i do think it is the mysterious impulse that can with physical actions lead to lasting change

awareness said...

That is beautiful and I believe that as well.....most work is inner work.......it is where the seeds of action are germinated.

Both Leunig and Hugo have captured the essence of meditative "invisible" labour with such descriptively lyrical words.

Mysterious impulses.......(lovely concept)..... I see them as a handful of mixed and mysterious wildflower seeds that you can toss into a field. Some won't take.....some will grow and die off early ..... but some will fill the field with colour and vibrant life.

Still the field, but a lasting perennial change.

Bar L. said...

I've never thought of winter than way (we don't have winter here) but it's a lovely thought and beautifully written.

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

Dana
One of the amazing miracles of 'going inside' i think has to do with the bearing of our name - we have many different selves, but not all equally us -and I know some of mine aren't good for me!

But I think this connection with the inner 'us' has to do with our spirit and attitude, and moreover which we choose to identify with. It's like a visual dynamic, a psychological equivalent that we see from within our own minds that creates an inner fluidity which if we are open to it and honest, can on occasion lead us to declare, without any allusion to see what is possible - like an omnipresent, solid token from heaven of the emotional texture of the person we want to be and feel we are deep down.

Blimey just re read that - it's only 8am, need to lay down again now!

Layla
thank you - can't believe you don't get winter - actually can't get my head round it. Autumn leaves are falling here now and there is a chill in the evening that warms me somehow...
Have been dropping by your different sites and enjoying them very much indeed - very thought provoking

Nikita said...

I am in a teary mood, that quote has, well I don't have many words at the mo. x

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

Niki
I often wonder what our eyes are trying to say with their tears, and sometimes words are just not enough - and i think saying the things we don't need to say weakens our talk
try not to run from your tears - i think we all need to go into the heart of loneliness from time to time and let it do its washing (crying) - then we can find solitude - that place where the eternal within us finds rest

Trailady said...

Simply lovely. You are a deep person. Thank you for sharing a part of your soul here on this blog.