what the soul waits for

For God alone
my soul
in silence
waits.
- Psalm 62:1


The soul waits expectantly - always expectantly - for God, and is satisfied by nothing less. Perhaps this is because the soul knows very well that for which it waits: the One who is the soul's own source and essence. How could your soul wait for or be satisfied by anything else?

How does the waiting of your soul impact the living of your life?

mountains of light

on east horizon
pre-dawn thunderstorms become
great mountains of light.

do no harm?

This morning a group of us met at sunrise to walk the labyrinth at PrairieView mental health center in Newton. The air was warm and muggy as it has been each morning for many days, but a welcome breeze rattled through the nearby cottonwood trees, offering a raspy-throated blessing upon our gathering. Birds that have been largely silent during these hot days assumed treetop positions and sang their chants of praise.

The cement had cooled to a comfortable, stony warmth over night and I welcomed the opportunity to walk the spiraling path with bare feet. After taking a few steps, I noticed many, many small ants scuttling across the surface of the labyrinth in their own dizzying tangle of paths. They were a frenetic wonder!

Here, on the the labyrinth, I could clearly see these tiny creatures that normally fall well outside the scope of my attention. Here, I could clearly see the threat posed by each of my footfalls.

I found myself mesmerized by their scurrying, and attempted to do my best to avoid doing harm. Yet, I soon found that no matter how hard I tried there was the occasional ant that I failed to see, or the one that changed its route just as my foot came to rest on the pavement. No matter how hard I tried I caused suffering and death.

I considered how this happens all of the time as we make our way through life. It is literally impossible to "do no harm." This goes well beyond the tiny creatures who wind up under the soles of our feet. It has to do with choices we make and the ways we live. It has to do with decisions we make each day and the sometimes inadvertent consequences those decisions have, not for just ourselves but for others, including people who may fall well outside our attention.

Sometimes in our most intimate relationships we find we have hurt the ones we love without intending to at all.

The intention to do no harm and to live with compassion is a vital and important orientation for our lives. Along with it, however, we must remember with humility that we remain fully capable of causing pain, and suffering, and even death. And then the question stands before us: How will I respond to the harm or the hurt I have caused?