Spiritual Journey Thursday: Here

Welcome to this community where we support one another on our spiritual journeys. This month, I'm hosting our gathering and offered the word "here" as the prompt. I look forward to your posts and to the insight you will bring to our gathering this month. 

I have enjoyed searching for appearances of here after I selected the word based on Emily P. Freeman's podcast #188: You Are Here (And It Matters). And here's a quote I shared from the podcast:  

"What if you being all the way here actually mattered, with your cold feet and your stomach ache and the light shining through the window. You with your stack of books, by the bedside table and hopeful feeling inside your heart. You with your deep grief, over a loss you thought you’d be over by now, standing in the kitchen while you microwave your coffee. For now, this is true. So what is true of you? And do you really believe God is with you no matter what? That you are not alone, that you don’t have to be you all by yourself? Here’s to being where you already are. Fully present with all that is true. And then here’s to doing your next right thing in love."

Last week, on a walk in my neighborhood park, I was thrilled to watch a pileated woodpecker winding his way up the tree trunk searching for tasty morsels in the bark. Lucky me, to be here at the same time as this magnificent bird!

Yesterday, I found myself totally here with grandson, Oliver. There's something about an almost three month old that makes it easy to be here, to be present in the moment, to coax him to share his beautiful smiles, to not look away for an instant, (for if I do, he will surely grow up without me noticing and celebrating him along the way).  

I stopped this morning while running errands to savor the colors and the sky and the trees. Even though I've taken pictures of these same trees bedecked in autumn splendor before, I loved pausing to see them here and now, in the glory of today's moment.

 

One of my "do something" goals for 2021 is more stillness. I'm trying to learn to meditate. It's a process. I love these words I jotted in one of my quote books from blogger, River Brown.

"Breathe.

You're here.

You are supported.

Even loved.

Let that in."

         -River Brown

My afternoon walk included time to notice the changing colors in a nearby neighborhood as I listened to another podcast, Kelly Corrigan Wonders, Episode #54, Perfectly Imperfect with Anne Lamott. I highly recommend this episode when you have the time.

At the end of the episode, Kelly asks Anne this question, "Why are we here?" 

And Anne answers that it is "... to carry the word that there is goodness and that there is beauty and that most of all, we're all in this together."

Thank you for showing up here to share your story on Spiritual Journey Thursday. Your words add hope and goodness and beauty to my spiritual journey. We are an open community and welcome anyone who would like to join us. Leave a link to your blog post in the comments.