Photo: Kelley Mooneyham
So many voices speaking..
competing to capture our attention
We seem to endlessly seek a voice
that speaks deeply to our own.
There was a time when the rhythm and breath
of our life
was united with the life force of all creation..
Farmer and Earth
Plant and Gardener
Sky and Spirit
Sea and Soul
There was a time when everything around
us..taught us everything we needed to
know.
The tree and the flower
bow gracefully in the wind..
while the horse and hawk ride with it
each teaching the wisdom of living
in balance and harmony
with all things.
A step into each day
was a step into a vast field
of unity and interdependence.
Earth and creatures
created by the same Breath of Life
to breathe as one..
the voice of each speaking depth to depth
offering a mystical connection to the
Sacred.
And when all breath left the human body,
the body of the earth welcomed her
friend into the heart of their common
home..
And there, the stardust in the human soul
becomes a light beam
and reunites with the light of Infinite Love.
The rhythm of the seasons and the universe..
prepared the human spirit for the same
journey.
Wisdom taught our ancestors
to gratefully receive the gifts of one season..
while attentive hope in the certainty of change
comforted fear and doubt in seasons of
darkness.
As awareness of our sacred
connection
to the natural world has
weakened,
so has our ability to hear and sense
the Spirit of God and the mystery of
life gently whispering and offering,.
a personal presence
of beauty, love
hope and companionship.
Although created and sustained by this same
Spirit, humans rarely acknowledge
the symbiotic relationship
with all that exists.
The spirit of our common bond is
awakened, as the voice of suffering
permeates the air.
Voice can be seen
Voice can be heard,
when nothing is being said
Voice can be felt,
when everything is gone.
The voice of the human and natural
world is united once again
in the haunting
whimper, cry and guttural roar
of agony and suffering.
Here we lie stunned..
in a field of grief, loss
and bewilderment..
unwitting recipients of the pain and suffering of
the earth.
Trees burned alive
unable to run..
The plume of their pain
choking the air we breathe
taking the sky from soul and sight..
driving us from our homes and
the land we love.
Surging water propelled by the sea’s raging fever
drowns us in a sense of despair and
hopelessness as our lives flood.
We sift through the aftermath
while the water recedes..
giving little time before
the next wave arrives.
The cycle of life and death continues.. in our lives
and in our world
whether we’re ready or not.
The trauma accumulates
as the rhythm of the expected is shattered.
Our ability to hold and carry..
to comprehend and process..
is overwhelmed
And we have to let go
feeling hopeless
because we’re not quite sure what and how
much we are meant to carry.
We are living in moments
that feel like lifetimes.
Who catches our breath when we lose it?
Wisdom whispers
and attentiveness teaches..
that the same wind that brings the
storm..also carries it out to sea.
the smoke plume that obscures our
vision..shifts and lifts..
revealing the light that never left us.
The Spirit that created the earth
and every being in it..
is the same Spirit that heals and brings new
life when any life force dims and dies.
The God that created all
from a heart of Love..
holds all that is created
in One Love..
and when one heart breaks..
the heart of God breaks.
So if you pray
a wordless prayer
in a broken heart
for yourself, for others..
for the earth..
you open yourself
to an experience
of a deeper Presence..
you pray inside the heart of God..
and God prays inside you.
God’s dream for peace and love..
for beauty and good things for all..
didn’t die on a cross.
Infinite Love resurrected the place of
beauty, A place of peace,
A person who is Infinite Love..
into Spirit that breathes new life
and walks in every moment with every living thing.
You may not believe it
you may not perceive it
however, you will experience it
one day..
and every day…
when help arrives
when the clouds lift
when the wind calms
and when voices reunite.
The ancient story
we may find hard to believe
until we feel it rising
within and around us..
Our breath returns
bringing new life
carrying wisdom and understanding,
strength and courage,
patience and healing.
Creature and Creation..
Awakened in hope
touched by the Love of ever-present Light
And the eternal cycle of dying and rising
again.
© 2021 Chris Donovan