Praying for you in these current transitions. Thank you for sharing this post and Christine’s lovely poem, which well describes the process in which I find myself six months after my mother’s passing: in achingly beautiful thin places sorting through the wonderful home and physical reminders of memories where I and my siblings were raised.
I, too, have always been a “slow traveler,” and your description of the need to pay attention to the fact that modern travel
moves our bodies faster than the rest of resonates.
Giving ourselves time to catch up to ourselves, to listen to the Spirit’s whispers, to behold the glimmers present before us in loved ones, flowers/weeds, and rain, to process being in this world in this moment and place - while remembering so deeply other times and places - is a hard, sweet, good gift of being alive.
At our daughter’s recent college graduation, one of the young people had written for her beautiful short film “Kindred Souls” that “every healthy thing has an expiration date.” Our knowledge of this - our anticipatory grief and gratitude in Change - brings the exquisite joy and pain of living and loving.
May your soul find the healing comfort you need in your body’s present place and moment.
Thank you for your presence with us in this virtual space. May you feel our prayers with you and for you, Dear Almut.
Carol, what beautiful words! So glad to see you here again! I loved your words, especially these:
"Giving ourselves time to catch up to ourselves, to listen to the Spirit’s whispers, to behold the glimmers present before us in loved ones, flowers/weeds, and rain, to process being in this world in this moment and place - while remembering so deeply other times and places - is a hard, sweet, good gift of being alive."
Amen, indeed.
Also congratulation to the graduation of you daughter. What a lovely memory to cherish. And in-midst of it you must also carry your grieving heart. So I am giving back to you your lovely words also for the sake of your soul: "May your soul find the healing comfort you need in your body’s present place and moment."
I am glad to hear that, Patricia 🙏. It indeed is a feeling of “homelessness”. And it helps to know we are not carrying it alone. Wonder if it is what St Paul has named his “thorn in the flesh”.
Having just returned from a place near and dear to my heart, Shetland… I find it increasingly challenging to re-enter my life here. Each trip I make to that incredibly special rock in the North Sea pulls me farther away from the place where I dwell… in the Midwest, which is not where I grew up. I’ve tried for 15 years to settle in to the prairie. So, your comment about your soul not catching up with you struck me hard. My soul lingers between places… not yet here but no longer there… so I take to my gardens and remove weeds to give space for other plants to breathe and grow! 💗
I haven't traveled much but I have experienced coming home after a time away and feeling "off kilter," for awhile. "Whose house is this? Also, I lived in California from birth to 42-years-old, when I then married and moved to Montana. I've been here thirty years now, but I still miss the places of my youth...the ocean...the oak trees...the rolling hills. That is what feels like home to me...home in my soul.
That is beautifully said, Linda. Apparently we all have a landscape of our soul. For some it is the landscape of their birth but for some it is a very different place. I only lately started to long more for the landscapes of my home country.
How to be home no matter where you find yourself must embrace the liminal spaces. I think of being with our two youngest children, having been burned in their countries of origin and come to us for treatment at our local Shriners Hospital. We learned together how intricately woven are suffering as joy, pain and healing, and the miracle and privilege of being part of transformation! The One Love flowing in exquisite ways.
Keeping your family in our prayers with gratitude & all good wishes, Sue. My grandfather was a Shriner & the hospital was dear to his heart. Those who lovingly care for Ones who know the deepest pain on all fronts are divinely called and empowered. Thank you for sharing your story and any updates with this community. Peace today, CA
It takes a long time for a place to become home deep in our souls. We built a house 18 months ago and starting the landscaping this Spring. It is overwhelming, but also a way of claiming home. Should our home have rhododendrons at the entrance? How will our plantings look in 10 years? When you come in the driveway, do you feel welcome? Did you ever read "Three Mile an Hour God" by Kosuke Koyama. His lead meditation explores the notion that God can only meet us at the speed we walk - three miles an hour.
That is beautiful said, Todd. Much blessings for making your home a home. And yes, we probably should all walk more to meditate. Though there is Divine encounter possible also above the clouds in a much faster pace. Though we do not feel the pace at all on a plane. But we must remind ourselves to look outside the window than to stare on a screen. Sometimes the light is so bright up there that you can actually not stand it.
Thank you for reminding us of the beauty that is right here for us, and of the thin places that pull us into the mysterious in-between spots and times in our lives, and of the deep longing. These days, I can't seem to get my feet on the ground. The American political situation is such a thin place. . . confusing, confounding, frightening. Most people do not want to "go there," as the place is so thin. But that place is reality for this disheartened American. I need to spend more time outdoors, in spite of my allergies and the Texas heat. Nature pulls me into a more lovely reality, closer to the God who loves us. . . Let it be so!
I too feel grounded in the yard when my soul feels in-between. I've been spending lots of time in the flower garden beds as of late. Mulling over a post about how weeding can be a spiritual practice! Welcome back to this side of the world and I hope your soul and heart finds some rootedness soon! (Also, so flattered that my attempt at a poem was worth sharing with your community!)
If home is where the heart is, and we heed the call to love what God loves, then our home is, paradoxically, wherever our love is expressed, felt, and/or reciprocated. Geography is somehow transcended even as we "miss" the persons and places we love. Hmmmmm?????
You are so right about it, Wesley. I think I sense it every time I travel. There is the longing to make a home somewhere and well, little kids remind us of that importance of a geographic space, and still, in the end „home“ transcends all the places.
Almut, I love the line about traveling faster than our soul can fly. But I think it is not wandering in the clouds. It is instead resting in the yard by the fountain, waiting for you.
Praying for you in these current transitions. Thank you for sharing this post and Christine’s lovely poem, which well describes the process in which I find myself six months after my mother’s passing: in achingly beautiful thin places sorting through the wonderful home and physical reminders of memories where I and my siblings were raised.
I, too, have always been a “slow traveler,” and your description of the need to pay attention to the fact that modern travel
moves our bodies faster than the rest of resonates.
Giving ourselves time to catch up to ourselves, to listen to the Spirit’s whispers, to behold the glimmers present before us in loved ones, flowers/weeds, and rain, to process being in this world in this moment and place - while remembering so deeply other times and places - is a hard, sweet, good gift of being alive.
At our daughter’s recent college graduation, one of the young people had written for her beautiful short film “Kindred Souls” that “every healthy thing has an expiration date.” Our knowledge of this - our anticipatory grief and gratitude in Change - brings the exquisite joy and pain of living and loving.
May your soul find the healing comfort you need in your body’s present place and moment.
Thank you for your presence with us in this virtual space. May you feel our prayers with you and for you, Dear Almut.
Carol, what beautiful words! So glad to see you here again! I loved your words, especially these:
"Giving ourselves time to catch up to ourselves, to listen to the Spirit’s whispers, to behold the glimmers present before us in loved ones, flowers/weeds, and rain, to process being in this world in this moment and place - while remembering so deeply other times and places - is a hard, sweet, good gift of being alive."
Amen, indeed.
Also congratulation to the graduation of you daughter. What a lovely memory to cherish. And in-midst of it you must also carry your grieving heart. So I am giving back to you your lovely words also for the sake of your soul: "May your soul find the healing comfort you need in your body’s present place and moment."
Thank you, thank you.
Thank you, Friend. So grateful for you and the community you’re building here.
Thank you also, dear Carol. I am glad you see me building a community here! I take this as a vision to grow into 😇
Thank you for giving expression to my “homelessness “. It soothes my soul.
I am glad to hear that, Patricia 🙏. It indeed is a feeling of “homelessness”. And it helps to know we are not carrying it alone. Wonder if it is what St Paul has named his “thorn in the flesh”.
Having just returned from a place near and dear to my heart, Shetland… I find it increasingly challenging to re-enter my life here. Each trip I make to that incredibly special rock in the North Sea pulls me farther away from the place where I dwell… in the Midwest, which is not where I grew up. I’ve tried for 15 years to settle in to the prairie. So, your comment about your soul not catching up with you struck me hard. My soul lingers between places… not yet here but no longer there… so I take to my gardens and remove weeds to give space for other plants to breathe and grow! 💗
Also so nice to have you with us again :-)
O wow, Christina, I resonate with all what you say! Nothing wrong with the prairie but it is not my home either 😇
I haven't traveled much but I have experienced coming home after a time away and feeling "off kilter," for awhile. "Whose house is this? Also, I lived in California from birth to 42-years-old, when I then married and moved to Montana. I've been here thirty years now, but I still miss the places of my youth...the ocean...the oak trees...the rolling hills. That is what feels like home to me...home in my soul.
That is beautifully said, Linda. Apparently we all have a landscape of our soul. For some it is the landscape of their birth but for some it is a very different place. I only lately started to long more for the landscapes of my home country.
For me I was fine seeing new places...I actually like change...but I am also missing the feeling of having an anchor...a place..."home in my soul."
Yes, I agree!
How to be home no matter where you find yourself must embrace the liminal spaces. I think of being with our two youngest children, having been burned in their countries of origin and come to us for treatment at our local Shriners Hospital. We learned together how intricately woven are suffering as joy, pain and healing, and the miracle and privilege of being part of transformation! The One Love flowing in exquisite ways.
Peace to you , Almut and welcome home!
Keeping your family in our prayers with gratitude & all good wishes, Sue. My grandfather was a Shriner & the hospital was dear to his heart. Those who lovingly care for Ones who know the deepest pain on all fronts are divinely called and empowered. Thank you for sharing your story and any updates with this community. Peace today, CA
Oh, what a warming story, Sue! Thank you for sharing that here and blessings to your family. And thank you for welcoming me back home 🙏
It takes a long time for a place to become home deep in our souls. We built a house 18 months ago and starting the landscaping this Spring. It is overwhelming, but also a way of claiming home. Should our home have rhododendrons at the entrance? How will our plantings look in 10 years? When you come in the driveway, do you feel welcome? Did you ever read "Three Mile an Hour God" by Kosuke Koyama. His lead meditation explores the notion that God can only meet us at the speed we walk - three miles an hour.
That is beautiful said, Todd. Much blessings for making your home a home. And yes, we probably should all walk more to meditate. Though there is Divine encounter possible also above the clouds in a much faster pace. Though we do not feel the pace at all on a plane. But we must remind ourselves to look outside the window than to stare on a screen. Sometimes the light is so bright up there that you can actually not stand it.
Thank you for reminding us of the beauty that is right here for us, and of the thin places that pull us into the mysterious in-between spots and times in our lives, and of the deep longing. These days, I can't seem to get my feet on the ground. The American political situation is such a thin place. . . confusing, confounding, frightening. Most people do not want to "go there," as the place is so thin. But that place is reality for this disheartened American. I need to spend more time outdoors, in spite of my allergies and the Texas heat. Nature pulls me into a more lovely reality, closer to the God who loves us. . . Let it be so!
I hear you, Carol. Feeling home in a time like this is a constant challenge. I am glad you enjoy the outdoors 😎
"are you home in your home?" Not yet! And it's almost been a year in our new house. Love your pieces. They are so relaxing!
Blessings to you and your new house, May-Britt.
Thanks, BTW it's Maj not May! I've made a decision to claim that, after 60 years of "oh it's OK, no big deal" ;)
Do claim your name indeed, Maj-Britt (I had to trick auto correct to get it done right this time 😇). And thanks for reading!
I too feel grounded in the yard when my soul feels in-between. I've been spending lots of time in the flower garden beds as of late. Mulling over a post about how weeding can be a spiritual practice! Welcome back to this side of the world and I hope your soul and heart finds some rootedness soon! (Also, so flattered that my attempt at a poem was worth sharing with your community!)
Oh, I am astounded by your poem, Christne. Really. So thank you 🙏And I love to hear that we mull over same things while gardening 😇
If home is where the heart is, and we heed the call to love what God loves, then our home is, paradoxically, wherever our love is expressed, felt, and/or reciprocated. Geography is somehow transcended even as we "miss" the persons and places we love. Hmmmmm?????
You are so right about it, Wesley. I think I sense it every time I travel. There is the longing to make a home somewhere and well, little kids remind us of that importance of a geographic space, and still, in the end „home“ transcends all the places.
Very familiar with that feeling, of homesickness really, for a place not yet known.
So well said, Beverly. It is homesickness for a place not yet known!
Almut, I love the line about traveling faster than our soul can fly. But I think it is not wandering in the clouds. It is instead resting in the yard by the fountain, waiting for you.
Looking forward to have that fountain flow again 🙏