18 February 2010

reflections on lent

for your lenten fast, add something to your spirituality: deep breathing, meditation, a handwritten letter, an encouragement, speak peace...

there's only so much you can write in 140 characters or less. sometimes, that's all you really need if you have a point to make, a thought to share, or a wish to send into the world.

as i am filled with the words of others from the last week, experiences of yesterday, and the moment of now, i am reaching into the Creative Spirit to deepen my understanding of now. i am reaching into this moment, calling into it something new. my thoughts are centered around lent and how much i love this liturgical season. i do not see it filled with self-denial, but with self. we shed something about the bonds that are surrounding us and moving us into a place of freedom.

for me, i will shed the negative thoughts and the inner critic. those thoughts/conversations with the inner critic keep me from speaking at times while other times dancing around my truth.

each of us are created in light: light to illuminate the darkness of our self-doubt, self-loathing, the questions about our thighs, and the uncertainty of tomorrow. do i hold truth? yes. but there are temptations presented daily to challenge the truths within. we know our truth, we speak our truth, and we hold it in our hands.

i believe that each day of lent that moves us closer to the darkest day of good friday can bring us into illumination from within. we will be the lights that travel that lonely road into the dark. the dark itself isn't "bad" or evil. the dark is good and holy and is where alchemists do their work, where babies are nurtured in womb. the dark is only a space. we are to be the light for ourselves, using the light of the world to illuminate. we are to shed those unwanted pounds of self-doubt, materialism, and greed.

so it's both: giving and receiving. the guest needs the host and the host needs the guest.

as we reach into our daily practice, may we dance within ourselves and take delight in our truth: our center: our very being. as we reach into shedding what we do not need, what hides our truth, let us then turn outside of ourselves and share ourselves with another.

the other side of the coin is to put something back into yourself: to breathe deeply, to write a handwritten note to someone near or far, to speak in kindness, to tell the truth to yourself (you are beautiful, you are good, you are amazing and these hips don't matter), to call a friend just to share your voice, to speak peace to that neighbor or person, to carry something from within your dreams into the open: dance, practice yoga, love deeply, read often, and savor life. any one of these, hey-name your own, can enrich your spiritual practice and deepen the experience of lent (spring). what will spring forth from your truth? what will you share?

grace, peace, and love. let us journey together.


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