+
home > join
us > newsletter |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
  |
August Newsletter — Aug 12, 2009
It is 11:57am. If we were in a monastery, we would leave our morning chores for prayers that begin right as the sun reaches its zenith. Noon is a time to align with peace, a time to remember that sorrow is compatible with joy, a time to renew our resolve.
Barring some uncanny coincidence, though, you will not open this newsletter at noontime. Perhaps for you it is early morning (a time to gratefully begin anew) or almost bedtime (a time of completion and trust) or somewhere in between the more obvious pauses in each day’s rhythm. How can you most fully employ the unique energy of this hour? You now have an opportunity to explore this question with others around the world in an online retreat that we’re leading together with Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of our sister site, Spirituality and Practice:
http://bit.ly/ANGELHours
What a simple, serene, yet satisfying way to refresh your spirits for six weeks: with skillful guidance, in the company of others, without even needing to leave your own home!
And our spirits do need refreshing. Faith – a gentle, enduring trust in life – requires careful attention day in and day out, like the most delicate of seeds. With ample nurture, our trust can withstand all the difficulties life dishes out. Joyce Holmes McAllister’s new poem reminds us that in tough times, our ancestors' voices – and the memory of their actions, speaking louder than words – can help restore our trust:
http://www.gratefulness.org/poetry/days_mcallister.htm
A story in this month’s Gratefulnews reinforces her memories with a set of recollections from people who, amidst the Great Depression, discovered a surprising amount of resourcefulness, altruism, and even joy:
http://www.gratefulness.org/gratefulnews/index.htm
Sometimes we find our trust renewed when we least expect it…even when we are grieving the death of a loved one. Paul Bennett found over time that there was no sharp dividing line between loving his wife Bonnie in life and grieving for her in death:
http://www.gratefulness.org/readings/e_mansfield_gratitude.htm
Bennett created rituals – like standing on a bridge with water running under him – that brought relief from grief by carrying him completely into the present. Fyodor Dostoevsky found a similar relief through writing his great novels:
http://www.gratefulness.org/giftpeople/dostoevsky.htm
His trust in love despite all difficulty is expressed through Father Zossima in The Brothers Karamazov, “Strive to love your neighbors actively and indefatigably. And the nearer you come to achieving this love, the more convinced you will become of the existence of God and the immortality of your soul.” How intriguing that the active verb here is not “love” but rather “strive”! We cannot expect to be immediately accomplished at the art of loving. We can only keep trying, not letting our failures and weaknesses derail us. Our retreats, our quiet pauses, refresh our spirits so that we do not grow weary in this attempt. And so – hoping you can join us! – please let us offer you again an opportunity to sign up (if you haven’t already) for the “Living the Hours” online retreat, which starts September 14th:
http://bit.ly/ANGELHours
It is now 1:16pm; the shadows are lengthening amidst a chorus of crickets. What time is it for you? Sharing this hour or any hour with you is a gift, and we thank you, always and heartfully, for your presence here.
In Gratefulness,
Patricia and Margaret
on behalf of our ANG*L Webteam
« back