Carol Varsalona is hosting Spiritual Journey Thursday for June and asked us to write about our One Little Word. Check out Carol's thoughtful post about her OLW for the year, restore. You can also find links to the reflections of other spiritual travelers there. Feel free to join us with your own thoughts. We are an open and welcoming group who post on the first Thursday of the month (or sometimes just as soon as we can get around to it).
When Carol invited us to write about our OLW (One Little Word) for the year, I'm sad to admit that I couldn't remember mine. I headed to my blog where I was able to find an entry and my word "rhythm." The fact that I couldn't remember it reveals that I needed this mid-year reminder from Carol to reflect on my word.
I worked hard to establish a more consistent rhythm for my mornings early in the year and made progress with an increased focus on scripture study (we are studying the Old Testament this year) and meditation. It continues to be a challenge for me to engage in quiet time before the concerns of the day crowd in. I like to read from an inspirational book as part of this morning time. I've enjoyed the following books so far this year: A Rhythm of Prayer edited by Sarah Bessey and Counterweights by Shannan Martin. I discovered my newest e-read, The Sacred Pulse: Holy Rhythms for Overwhelmed Souls while googling rhythms in preparation for writing this post.
One of the rhythms that I've been more successful at establishing is almost daily walks. I usually get outside five days a week to move my body, listen to the birds, and notice the beauty around me. I love watching the rhythms of nature play out, from the silence of snow to the gentle rain to the blossoming trees and the joyful singing birds. I captured some photos on a walk and included them on a SOL post in April, concluding with this photo and haiku.
Cathedral of green
refreshes heavy hearts
comforts weary souls
- Ramona Behnke
My newest rhythmic exploration is the Tai Chi class that I started at my local YMCA this month. AI offers this overview: "In Tai Chi, rhythm acts as the invisible bridge between breathing, weight shifting, and movement." I've wanted to practice Tai Chi for decades, ever since I watched its beautiful rhythmic movements on a hillside across from our apartment in Hong Kong as a young twenty something missionary. It's taken me almost fifty years, but I'm excited to let this be my summer of Tai Chi.
Ramona, even though you may have forgotten your OLW, rhythm, it was with you this year. This line, "a challenge for me to engage in quiet time before the concerns of the day crowd in," seems to be the pattern of these past months for me. I have been inundated with a piece of grief that haunts me-being overwhelmed. Having your cathedral of green in my Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet Gallery is comforting. I revealed the gallery yesterday on PF and will share it again on Tuesday for SOL26. Be at piece with Tai Chi and walk in the luxury of nature each day, my friend.
ReplyDeleteRamona, truth be told - your experience with forgetting your OLW happened to me in the past and is why I stopped choosing one! Until "awe," that is. Now I just let words come when they will. As for finding your rhythm again [chuckle]: It really is hard to hit a stride for Bible reading each day. I have had to learn to give myself grace by reading ahead on days when I can and not chastising myself for the days that time is too short or when I am too tired (sometimes rest is the "one thing that is needed."). I used to walk more than I do now and I always found some marvelous thing along the way - like a family of robins coaxing a baby across the street, or the humming of countless insects in a field that is now a subdivision, alas. Your lines on loving the rhythms of nature reflect my own love of it. Endless wonder beckons. And healing for the troubled spirit. Beautiful haiku - nature IS a cathedral, one not built with hands, offering refreshment, comfort, rest. I have to say your books sound so intriguing, as does my mental picture of you practicing Tai Chi, at last! We tend to forget how much of our mental and spiritual wellness is tied to physicality. Thank you for drawing us into your uplifting rhythms.
ReplyDeleteRamona, looking at your cathedral of green I feel an overwhelming sense of peace. With the hecticness of life, it is sometimes difficult to find a rhythm to our days. Quiet mornings, before the demands of the day set in, is a perfect time for scripture reading and meditation. May you continue to find a rhythm to your days. Bob
ReplyDeleteI love a daily walk, Ramona, walking in my forest. It is there I find the rhythm of my heart. If you can only do one thing...let it be a walk in a cathedral of green!
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