Contemplation

A Walk in the Woods…

As we entered the woods, we were drawn from one path to another. The hustle and bustle of the everyday was left behind, replaced with sounds of a different… simpler… more pure kind. The further we walked, the more deeply in touch we became with our surroundings.

With each step, we traveled closer to the center, quietly, gently becoming part of a different world. We were surrounded by life, even in that which seemed at first glance to be without it. Layers of decaying leaves, fallen branches, and tree trunks, all returning to the earth, carrying nutrients from the past through the present and into the future. A reminder that when we remain in union with Creation, when we live and breathe Truth, all is One; there is no difference between life and death.

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it within us, or we find it not. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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For Goodness Sake…

Whether the day might seem to be stale or crying out with possibility, there is goodness to be experienced as well as exercised. As with many things, it is a matter of choice, and while the world may offer plenteous choices, oftentimes they can be boiled down to simply two. As Abraham Maslow stated, “In any given moment, we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.”

When Jesus went back to the place of his roots, the people could have stepped forward, received his words, and taken them to heart. However, according to the Gospel of Mark (6:1-6), the majority overwhelmingly chose to cling to the past—the known, barring them from even giving his words and his way a chance for consideration.

So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. – Mark 6:5

Despite what he encountered, within an environment so rigid and resistant, we are told that the glory of God was still at work through Jesus for those who were open to it… for those who had faith.

In Psalm 34, verse 8, it is written, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the stalwart one who takes refuge in the Lord.” Like Jesus, we are called to be unwavering in our efforts to taste and see the goodness of God, as well as to allow it to live through us. Like Jesus, we need to let go of I, me, and mine… you, them, and us, and to truly let God be front and center, leading the way.

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