Spirit Poems

Ann's Guided Meditation...Take time to connect with yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrlEgjJUd3E&t=4s

First Dance Yes, the boys sit or stand along the gymnasium wall, while the girls flit along the edge. Unlike their days of holding hands and marching round the gym, their eyes glance up and down while the music plays, and in skirts or slacks, their hips begin to sway . And then the Principal appears without his suit and tie to call them out into the middle and speak the words they long for: “Now choose a partner…everyone.”   The eyes go up, the hands go out, the breath quickens with the heart. To touch this other, to smell their hair, to glide together, bodies linked, is the softness in a dream, and there they float.   But then the music stops— “Okay now,” is called, “you must choose different partner.” And so, another rite begins.

The River            And we went down boys and girls together in our school clothes along the smelly creek all the way to the river. Brambles and stones beneath our feet, we passed rails and mill gates. And there we stood looking out in silence at the great river too wide to swim across though some might have tried and drowned too young. And our teacher stepped in allowing her skirt to rise to her hips like a cloud with her inside, and lifting her arms she beckoned one by one to her side where she blessed aloud our baptism, not to God, but to the waters, and we the fish that lived inside and it inside of us, "Forever and forever,"  she simply said, "You are one."   And some laughed for joy and some bowed their heads and cried.

“You can only go into the unknown when you have made friends with yourself.” —Pema Chödrön Dear friends, We are, by our very nature, vulnerable beings. We resist that which makes us uncomfortable, and when faced with feelings of vulnerability—whether from loss, fear, or self-criticism—we automatically put up barriers. But we cannot ever truly avoid feeling vulnerable—it’s part of the human experience. By getting comfortable with feeling uncomfortable, however, we can work toward taming the one thing that causes the most suffering—the mind. In the Buddhist contemplative tradition, we are taught that our fundamental state of being is one where we are wide open, awake, and possessing an immense capacity for love. -What if you could learn to embrace the full spectrum of your experience with unconditional warmth, openness, and kindness? -What if you no longer "hated" being vulnerable and, instead of overwhelming you, your emotions became your teachers? -What if you c...

A prayer to expand our vision of caring from Summer Cushman May we remember one another. May we remember those who are sick. May we remember those who are vulnerable. May we remember one another. May we remember the homeless and mentally ill. May we remember those who are lonely and isolated. May we remember one another. May we remember the undocumented. May we remember the uninsured. May we remember one another. May we remember the imprisoned. May we remember those involved in war. May we remember one another. May we remember those with too much work in this crisis. May we remember those with not enough work in this crisis. May we remember one another. May we remember the small businesses, riding the edge. May we remember those already struggling to pay their bills. May we remember one another. May we remember the kids who need school to be open in order to eat. May we remember the parents who need school to be open in order to work. May we remember one...