Category: Meditations

“Oh, you weak, beautiful people who give up with such grace. What you need is someone to take hold of you—gently, with love, and hand your life back to you.”
—Tennessee Williams

Who has handed your life back to you?

The swan is our perfect image of grace—the long, elegant neck, the snowy plumage, the stately effortless movement through the water. Until the swan chooses to exit the water, and shows its ungainly waddle. It turns out that for even those who seem to move through life with the most grace, it depends a lot on what moment you’re looking.

When do you feel at your most graceful?

Snakes shed their skins in a tidy moving forward that leaves a complete image of the old snake behind. But change isn’t always that neat. Sometimes bits and pieces peel away at different rates and times, leaving you looking raggedy around the edges—but with room to grow inside.

What of your assumptions or beliefs do you find are slowly, raggedly peeling away?

This evening marks the beginning of the Muslim observation of Ramadan, a month of fasting from sun up to sun down. This holy month invites the faithful into deeper awareness of their relationship with The Holy and deeper engagement with their faith.

What practices help put you in touch with your deepest spiritual commitments?

You could be checking out something crucial on your phone, but then again, you might be checking out from the beauty and possibility around you while you follow something trivial down a technological rabbit hole.

What draws you away from what is most important, and what draws you back?