Calm, Open and Harmonious
Today’s post is by Bryan Berghoef The current stage of life I’m in is busy. I have four active kids in elementary and middle school. Daily I find myself driving them to practice, to track meets, to school activities. I work as a pastor in a new church setting in which I am the only […]
Contemplative Leadership: Born of Compassion
Today’s post is by Leah Rampy When compassion fills my heart, free from all desire, I sit quietly like the earth. My silent cry echoes like thunder throughout the universe. – Rumi What does it mean for us to be called to compassion, graced with the capacity and the desire? What do we notice about […]
Children, Chaos, and Contemplation
Today’s post is by Bryan Berghoef
There is never a dull moment at our house. My wife and I have four children—amid the flurry of homework assignments, birthday parties, sibling spats, and dinnertime squabbles—there’s a lot of constant noise and movement.
One of the delightful things about having young children is their unbridled enthusiasm and overwhelming energy. They are fully present, without a sense that there is anything else to be. They are fully in the moment. This is a gift of being a child, not being weighed down by thoughts of the future, or by a sense of responsibility, or worry. They are right here, right now.
The downside is that everything is so important, and when something doesn’t go their way, right now, it’s reason for complaining, crying, sometimes even—panic. Spilling milk really is something to cry over. A favorite toy breaking feels like the apocalypse. Even as I write this there is fighting in the sandbox. (Don’t worry – we have plenty of moments of calm and laughter as well in our household!)
I long as a parent to be able to maintain an inner calm amid all this outer chaos and confusion. I find that I very seldom am able to cultivate that on the spot. It is something I need to consciously develop in other moments, so that when the chaos comes, I have a reserve of calm from which to draw. It might be a daily time of prayer and silence, a quiet walk outside, Scripture reading, or some other practice.
Grounded in Love: Creative Leadership for Our Times
Today’s post is by Margaret Benefiel Marches. Online petitions. Letters to the editor. “Am I doing any good?” I ask myself. “Am I making a difference? Is there another way?” In the face of injustice, wars, and humanity’s inhumanity to humanity, I long to be faithful to doing my part to heal the world. As […]
The Birthing of a New Earth Consciousness
Article by Ann Dean (April 2018 eNews) I am the rain coming from the dew that causes the grasses to laugh with the joy of life. I am the yearning for good. Hildegard of Bingen The quality I most […]
The Power of Being Present
Today’s post is by Bryan Berghoef “Hello? Are you there, Dad?” I am awakened from my thoughts by my youngest child poking me, as I had apparently gone somewhere else while playing a game with her. This is a less common experience than it used to be, but still happens from time to time. We […]
Contemplatively Oriented Intercession
Article by Tilden Edwards (March 2018 eNews) Through all our clarity and unclarity about particular actions in terms of call and their alignment with God’s Shalom, there is one particular practice that can thread its way through our time, and that is contemplatively oriented intercession. If I suspend any sense of what “I” (my little […]
Iona Musings
Today’s post is by Bryan Berghoef Not I—not anyone else, can travel that road for you. You must travel it yourself. ~Walt Whitman A slight wind sweeps over the rocky hill, a cool relief after my quick walk and brief climb. Shoes off, I lean back on the grassy spot I’ve claimed and look around […]
From Where Do We Live?
Today’s post is by Tilden Edwards From where do we live? We can answer this question in many ways. I suggest here three primary “places” inside us from which we can live that may help us to recognize and choose our spiritual heart in the many different situations of our lives. I think they are […]
Setting the Stage for a Contemplative New Year
Article by Winston Charles (January 2018 eNews) One sage piece of advice given to me was, “Don’t join a fitness center in January. It will be packed with well-intentioned people who have made New Year’s resolutions to finally do something about getting fit and healthy. Wait until February when yet another gaggle of New Year’s […]