Posted in Grace, Life as Prayer, Shifts, So Much Goodness, Uncategorized, tagged Adventure, Beginnings, John O'Donohue, Poetry, Spirit on November 16, 2014| 3 Comments »
Words to tuck in your heart…
“Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.
Awake your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.”
John O’Donohue
Posted in Beauty, Gifts, Grace, Life as Prayer, Uncategorized, tagged Beauty, Flowers, Macro Lens, Photography, Searching, Tyler Kent White on August 12, 2014| 4 Comments »
As Annie Dillard says,
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
I choose to spend mine lately seeking beauty, with the lens in the tangible world and in the in the middle of heart-filled encounters with friends in the more intangible world of sacred listening. And when I saw this little gem it resonated deeply.
Since delving deeply into photography I have discovered that beauty is so much more abundant than I ever realized. We are taught that beauty fits into a certain mold, reminded by advertisements, and our culture in subtle and overt ways that beauty is this rigid, definable thing… and yet, our souls know differently.
Seek beauty, let it become you.
Posted in Beauty, Gifts, Gratitude, Life as Prayer, tagged Heather Plett, mary oliver, Poetry, Prayer on August 6, 2014| 1 Comment »
I found this little gem of a poem on Heather Plett’s website on the page Connecting With the Sacred. Part prayer, part invitation it spoke to me and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Every time I stumble across Mary Oliver’s poetry it is like connecting with the Sacred for me, it causes me to sit up straight, allows light to flood into my being and it invites me to breathe deeply knowing this moment is enough.
Her poetry is simple observation, combined with deep wisdom and an expanse of stillness that fills me up every time.
Praying
It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.
~ Mary Oliver ~
My prayer for you today:
May you seek what fills you.
Posted in Beauty, Gifts, Grace, Gratitude, Life as Prayer, tagged Beauty, Blessing, Flowers, mary oliver, Photography, Summer on August 4, 2014| 4 Comments »
Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed. ~Mary Oliver
(thanks to Amy from the Messy Middle for that gem from Mary Oliver)
My prayer for you today…
Wherever you may be, may you trust in the little moments of grace that sustain us,
may you take a moment to soak in all of the beauty that surrounds you,
may you seek beauty in the midst of your life,
and may you stand where ever you are and receive the blessing that awaits you.
Posted in Life as Prayer, Silence, tagged Rest, Sabbath, self-care on July 13, 2014| 3 Comments »
Keeping Sabbath…
They have been popping up everywhere lately…
reminders of how important rest, silence, solitude, prayer, meditation, movement, and reverence are…
A few weeks ago the sermon was on the idea of Sabbath, keeping the Sabbath, what it means to rest, what it means to allow God to renew you.
And this passage has been just behind my consciousness since I read it more than two weeks ago.
“The heart is a leisurely muscle. It differs from all other muscles. How many push-ups an you make before the muscles in your arms and stomach get so tired that you have to stop? But your heart muscle goes on working for as long as you live. It does not get tired, because there is a phase of rest built into every single heartbeat. Our physical heart works leisurely. And when we speak of the heart in a wider sense, the idea that life-giving leisure lies at the very center is implied. Never to lose sight of that central place of leisure in our life would keep us youthful. Seen in this light, leisure is not a privilege but a virtue. Leisure is not the privilege of a few who can afford to take time, but the virtue of all who are willing to give time to what takes time- to give as much time as a task rightly takes.”
Brother David Stiendl-Rast
Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer
Lately I have found myself seeking ways to bring the Sabbath feeling into every day. To find balance in my life that can be maintained long-term, a balance that allows the ebb and flow of life, and doesn’t leave me exhausted.
After spending the past two years in a program to become a Spiritual Director I have been thinking a lot about the ideas of Sabbath, of nourishment, of how to let the Sacred fill and renew me. Although it was an intense program there were these moments of rest that were built in that kept us nourished and filled through the time. I remember listening to the schedule of weekends and looking at the reading list and being a bit dismayed because I was already feeling torn and overwhelmed by my commitments, and the director nodded reassuringly and smiled as she read my mind “Although it sounds like a lot you will leave feeling more rested and filled.” Honestly I didn’t believe her at the time, but two years later I am in awe of how true that was.
And now that the program has ended one of my intentions is to begin to learn how to do that for myself in new and more meaningful ways. There is rest, and there is deep rest. And to learn what is deeply restful is an integral part of self-care.
So as you begin a new week may you find time for a “phase of rest”, may you take the feeling of Sabbath into your week and may you find the renewal you seek.
Posted in Gifts, Grace, Life as Prayer, Shifts, Vulnerability, Work in the World on December 4, 2013| 8 Comments »
There are always themes that tend to emerge when I pay attention.
Right now it has been the significance of small kindnesses, the need, both physical and emotional of so many that is so evident at every turn, AND the flipside, of the ability of all of us to meet those needs at various times and in various spaces and how so often when it is right it takes so little effort. Also, this idea that I am called to meet those that I can, but also to trust that others will step in as well, and to learn to discern when, where and how to step in, to fix, to let things be, to release.
In paying attention I have been reminded of many things:
I have been reminded that not every problem is mine to solve,
I have been reminded that I have a lot more to give than I realize,
I have been reminded that kindness- no matter how large or small- can transform moments, individuals and lives,
I have been reminded of the power of presence,
I have been reminded of the gift of being present,
I have been reminded that I am much happier when I pay attention to where my joy, my love, my kindness overflows and giving from that space,
I have been reminded that I need to include myself in the grace and kindness I offer.
In this interview, Krista Tippett from On Being interviews Nadia Bolz-Weber: Seeing the Underside and Seeing God: Tattoos, Tradition, and Grace . Pastor Bolz-Weber talks about the idea that we are here to be a community to one another, that we are here to help carry the burdens for each other, and to offer grace.
“And so it’s like this thing like I don’t think faith is given in sufficient quantity to individuals necessarily. I think it’s given in sufficient quantity to communities. The same with that whole thing like God will not give you more than you can bear. I don’t think God will give you more than a community can bear. And we’ve individualized this thing of faith so much.”
And ever since hearing this interview I have had many things from it that I have been pondering and playing with. One is how many times I have been taking on things that are not my own, letting the heaviness weigh me down and missing out on being present for those who are here in front of me who I am called to be there for. I have been missing the grace that is present in so many ways. And secondly, the freedom that is granted when we can rely on each other to help shoulder the burden.
Currently one of the families that I love and cherish is going through a difficult time, and seeing the community rally around them, seeing the love that is shared, the prayers that have been sent, the ways that they have been held has only reminded me that we are that community. We are here to offer grace, to offer love, their burden is too much to carry alone, but together, together we will walk through it.
That word,
GRACE
has been showing up in my reading, my conversations, my thoughts and prayers a lot lately.
So I am paying attention.
Grace, the power of it, the spaciousness in it, the lightness of it. It is something that has been fun to play with, to continue to ponder.
And so I ask you. What have you been paying attention to lately?
Posted in Beauty, Enough, Gratitude, Life as Prayer, Shifts, tagged kindness, Lessons From Grief, Self Love, spirituality, Wisdom on September 20, 2012| 5 Comments »
So much beauty
“In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.”
Posted in Gifts, Grief, Joy, Life as Prayer on August 7, 2012| 14 Comments »
August 7th.
This used to be just like any other day, passing uneventfully by until 8 years ago my grandmother passed away, then three years later I am finding myself again frantically making phone calls throwing clothes in a suitcase and trying to make a flight from South Carolina to Minnesota as quickly as possible.
And now tonight five years later, gathering again with family eating together sharing more laughter than tears I can’t help but think how much has changed.
I am to the place now where the sharp pain has subsided, where life has woven itself back into the tapestry of my life and where chances are the mention of Mitch or Grandma will bring warm nostalgia and the desire to share a story.
And as I think about what has changed the most it all revolves around the word more…
If you ask anyone who has lost someone recently what they want it would be more…
More time
More chances to share the love they have
More time to mend the fences that were built to keep a safe distance
More appreciation of the gifts of the ordinary days, the lazy Sundays together, the impromptu picnics in the backyard just because, a moment of appreciation of a shared meal, of having someone to share your day with, the voice at the other end of the line
More appreciation of life as a precious gift
More laughter
More…
One of the gifts of grief (be it from a death, a loss of a dream, a loss of the life you thought you wanted etc.) is that when your heart is broken open it naturally creates more space for love if you let it. The walls that we have built to keep ourselves “safe” no longer do, and the world suddenly seems like a very difference place and it is up to you how it changes you…
For me so many things have changed…
Hugs are longer and tighter.
Love is more freely given and received.
It is easier to discern what is truly important.
What has gotten me through the past five years without a doubt is the love of friends and family, those who went out of their way to take care of me when I needed it most, those who shared their stories of grief and loss and growth, those who let me be where I was… some days in the darkness of loss, and sometimes in the light of all the gifts that have been shared… all of those who with words, thought and deed held me in love as I stumbled my way through a difficult time.
Today I am more grateful, more appreciative, more overwhelmed by beauty, more present in the moment, more authentic, more honest, more open, more compassionate and more forgiving. Not every day of course, and I have my days when I don’t even want to be with myself… but more days that I live in the place of genuine gratitude for the gift of one more day in this life, of one more day being surrounded by the people I love and that love me so deeply and fully.
So here is to more…
More appreciation of each other right now in this moment.
More fun and laughter.
More enjoyment of each day.
More life squeezed out of each day.
More love.
More love, I can hear our hearts cryin’
More love, I know that’s all we need
More love, to flow in between us
To take us and hold us and lift us above
If there’s ever an answer
It’s more love.
Posted in Beauty, Erica Experiment, Gifts, Joy, Life as Prayer, Questions, Shifts, Uncategorized, tagged Erica Experiment, inner voice, Shifts on May 31, 2012| 13 Comments »
Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on, essentially an apostolic work, you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect.
As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself.
—Thomas Merton, in a letter to Jim Forest dated February 21, 1966
I have a wise friend who when I was in the midst of a whirlwind of change gently asked if perhaps instead of focusing on the what of the changes, the what of what I wanted to be and accomplish I would instead focus on the who.
This one shift altered everything.
Rather than looking at my list of to do’s trying to figure out if I was “doing” enough, instead I focused on whether or not I was who I wanted to be in the mist of it all.
It forced me to discern what kind of a person do I want to be, to really chew on that, to figure out what it would truly look like. Do I want to radiate joy, do I want to be a generous listener, do I want to live out my compassion, what does a life of intention and integrity look like… what kind of a “who” would that be.
Who would I be if I lived out my principles in a more intentional way, if I fully leaned into a wholehearted life of being generous in spirit, in love, in honesty, in joy.
So that has been my latest Erica Experiment… looking at the “Who” of me and letting go of having to know the “What”.
And what has surprised me is that the whats generally fall into place on their own, they don’t need the attention I was lavishing on them, writing and rewriting my to do lists, adding to my dreams, berating myself for having such similar lists week after week because there are only so many hours in a day.
Instead asking at the end of the day if I crossed off enough on my list I have been asking questions like: did I live out love, did I offer my gifts to another, did I connect in a meaningful way, did I share laughter with someone?
Somehow life seems more full, and with less stress I am getting more done, and with more joy, with more gratitude and more grace.
Posted in Erica Experiment, Life as Prayer, Light, Visible Love, tagged Alan Jones, everyday events, quote, Ronna Detrick, spiritual direction on May 5, 2012| 1 Comment »
Colorado April 2012
A beautiful quote that touched me from Ronna Detrick’s recent blog post:
In some ways, the art of spiritual direction lies in uncovering the obvious in our lives and in realizing that everyday events are the means by which God tries to reach us. ~ Alan Jones
After attending a recent event for my church I am reminded again of how hungry people are for connection, for spiritual nourishment, for authentic conversation about so many things- including doubt, certainty, hope, joy, pain, love and connection. What a beautiful opportunity to be around others who are willing to question, to share, to revel in relationship with one another and with God/Mystery/Love.
And questions: How to live our faith on an everyday basis, how God reaches out to us, what pieces of our life hold meaning, where Love shows up in our lives, how we are blessing others, how we are being blessed… so wonderful to sit with these questions, to share thoughts and to hear the hearts of others.
One of the many conversations that struck me was about the love of friends, and how that is a special kind of love, an elevated kind of love because it is a constant choice we make to be in one another’s lives. There isn’t a formal contract, or a bloodline that holds us together, instead it is a choice that we continue to make to bless and be blessed by sharing, by coming together, by holding one another in love and committing acts of kindness to sustain the relationship.
And something that resonated deeply was her assertion that friendship by it’s very definition is an act of grace. Something I will be mulling over for the next few days…
Erica Staab 