our own path...

We all walk our own path, steps to the future, the past, smiles, tears, laughter..steps to ponder and reflect.
Our paths may cross, but our journeys on them are never the same. If I ask you to think of a meadow, none of us will envision the same place. Some will see grass and wild flowers, some will see perhaps a dry grassland clearing filled with ground covering turned brown by the summer sun, or perhaps even a snow filled clearing with deer tracks leading off into the distance. Even if you walk with me on my path, you are still forging your own way, your own imagery, thoughts, sights, smells..all to make us individual threads in this woven human fabric.

Where are you on your path? Does each day lend itself to new journeys or are you stuck in the same tread marks you made yesterday and the day before. Do you embrace the chance to choose when your path splits into different directions? Have you chosen the more difficult terrain and allowed it to stretch you and recreate who you thought you were?

Can you hear what your path is speaking to you? Will you listen....will you follow...

writing...the process

So. My Writing through Spirituality meetings started last evening, and it felt wonderful. A room full of souls who share the same passion for letting the letters flow from their fingertips onto the page, a room full of ideas and imagery, feeling and emotion.

We were given the first line of text, and asked to write for five minutes, letting the first words shape and lead us to wherever our hearts felt the need to be. The first line below, is the text given...the rest is mine...

As a child I stood on the shore of the world,

bathed in the light of Something or Someone I as of yet did not know

caressed by the breeze and warmed in the Light,

my Soul was filled and my Spirit took flight,

like so many wings above me

Lifted, soaring, spiralling higher until

My reflection was but a spot on the shoreline

Yet still feeling connected to that small child

still attached to the shore and the water,

still breathing the salty air

still held by the light....

will you pray with me...

was the sermon title in worship yesterday. I must admit that when Gary speaks those 5 words every Sunday, they wrap me in a warm embrace. The offer to spend moments together in prayer, surrounded by friends and loved ones, offering up our humble words in praise of our maker, reaches to the depths of my very soul. My prayer is most often offered when the moment seems poised to hear it, open to the thoughts and emotions of this human life. I say a lot of "Thank you's" for the blessings that pour over me, that guide my steps, that shape my spirit. I say them quietly before challenging any mountain in my path, asking for the Grace and ability to walk through the fire and emerge transformed into a greater being. I am learning to be who I am to be, without all the clutter and baggage of what we think life is to be about.

I am a work in progress,
clay to be shaped,
with hands open and raised up,
ready to be who I was meant to be..... will you pray with me?

It's a wet one out there...

It's raining, no actually pouring outside..wet wet wet. Thankfully I get to work inside and watch the rain come down. I am fortunate to have chosen a career that does not require me to be outside getting drenched. I feel for those who must be out there, soggy, wet, damp, rain dripping down the backs of necks, soaking through shoes and creating that cold uncomfortable wet foot feeling...don't get me wrong, I love the rain, nurturing earth, cleansing air, washing away all of our worldly grime.

I just don't want to be in it!

white out...

So a soft fresh blanket of snow fell last evening, cleansing streets and the earth into a white, glistening and somewhat quiet place. I, like most, love the snow except for having to drive in it. "It's the other guy" you have to watch for..those who still think it's a dry hot summer's day, with nothing to impede their need for speed.
I love how it quiets the earth, dampens the sounds of everyday things. I also like how it gives permission for us to slow down, even for just a moment or so. Everyone has heard the sound of snowfall, a short walk away from a main road or subdivision that lends itself to that quiet peacefulness, tranquil observation..silence.
I am not afraid of the silence, never have been. I know many who are though, afraid to be alone with their thoughts without music, cellphones, TV and the like. Silence and stillness lets you breathe, allows us to unplug from the frantic pace around us. Let's us just be..

maybe that's why I love the falling snow..it does what it is meant to be.

off shore...

How?

The first light of dawn rockets across the sky

Illuminating Your creation

Melding darkness into light

How do some claim You do not exist?

The wind brushes across the pine

And ripples the waters

Echoing the heartbeat of this place in their movement

How do some claim You are not present?

A bird takes flight across a blue sky

And seeds push their pale green arms through the soil

Greeting the spring day with a smile

How do some claim You do not care?

People greet people

And soul touches soul

Voices joined in praise and worship

How do some deny that You love them?

Set sail...

So, my inaugural blog entry..I thought this medium would be a great way for me to get serious about writing..nothing in absolute particular - Current Ripple moniker. I was looking for something to encompass all those ripples that flow across my mind, to give a place to let them flow from my fingertips. I am not an accomplished writer but love to sit and let the thoughts drip onto the page as they break on the horizon.

I was one of those English students, who could sit and write an essay the evening before it was due, usually in front of the TV and score a higher mark than my friends who had taken the entire 2 weeks to put theirs together. This did not make me popular, though I could never quite explain how I was able to complete such a task with so much outside interference.
At the time, I never considered what the grade would have been if I had taken all of the allotted time to complete my assignment, given that the "B" was enough of a score for me to be happy with what I had created.

So I hope to impart my own view of our world, in all of it's finest and ferocity. If you are along for the ride, I encourage you to take part in my voyage, toss in your own comments too!

R