Scripps Sundays

This week, I listened to Kate Bowler interview a wonderful guy named Malcolm Guite.:  What If Prayer Isn’t What You Think It Is? In the interview, Malcolm recited one of his lovely poems and I had to share it with you:    Singing Bowl Begin the song exactly where you are, Remain within the world of which you’re made. Call nothing common in the earth or air, Accept it all and let it be for good. Start with the very breath you breathe in now, This moment’s pulse, this rhythm in your blood And listen to it, ringing soft and low. Stay with the music, words will come in time. Slow down your breathing. Keep it deep and slow. Become an open singing-bowl, whose chime Is richness rising out of emptiness, And timelessness resounding into time. And when the heart is full of quietness Begin the song exactly where you are. Also, I uploaded a recording of our singing bowl. Listen to it and listen for the thump at the end. That was Poppy in the background. I loved it so much that I did ...

Anna- I read this over the past week and thought of conversations we've had. This is so good as I learn better boundaries and so empowering. May it be so...  Stop Absorbing What Isn't Yours There’s a skill many of us were never taught but desperately need:  Not being emotionally porous. Most of us learn empathy early. But few of us learn boundaries with the same clarity. So we absorb everything—students’ fear, colleagues’ urgency, a family member’s frustration—and then wonder why we’re exhausted before noon. Holding a yes/and lens can transform your experience: Yes—you can care deeply. And—you can stay rooted in yourself. Yes—someone else may be in turmoil. And—you can remain steady. Yes—others may move with urgency. And—you can keep your own pace. This discernment is what allows you to stay present without being pulled under. It’s the ability to say, in your body and your mind:  “I see what’s happening. I’m here with you. And I’m choosing who I will be in this moment.” B...

  This was on one of the resident's bulletin boards at Harborview,  and I immediately thought of you when I saw it.  May it be so... 💕

The following post is from  The Book of Belonging Substack: Weekly Sabbath Practice: Mother, May I :  This week’s practice was inspired by conversations in my real life. It’s February - arguably the bleakest month of the year- and I can’t name a single friend who is not on the struggle bus. And I would know: I am the driver and I take roll call. We all have our different ways of coping and - having loaded my bus with a ragtag gang of spiritual hooligans ranging from deeply liturgical to fantastically woo-woo - prayer is a coping mechanism often discussed. If you’re new here, that term might not mean what you expect : as Rumi says,  there are many ways to kneel and kiss the ground.  We’ve explored  Scream Prayer  and something I now refer to as  Bug Prayer , based on Rachel’s iconography. And this week, one of my fellow riders on the struggle bus shared  this video  of Tracee Eliss Ross talking about her personal prayer practice. In short, she...