As I sit this morning, in prayer and meditation, I feel the presence of Beloved Community. I hold each and every one of us in God’s Wholeness and Love. I trust that each of us finds the Peace, Beauty, and inherent Freedom that is abundant and ever-present.

This morning’s meditation and study brings a reminder…that each of us has a deep need for solitude, stillness, and reflection. In this culture of doing, our soul is well-served by taking time each day for being. Editor Lorraine Anderson, in Sisters of the Earth (a collection of women’s prose and poetry about Nature) talks about “making a conscious choice to slow down to seed time or rock time, to still the clamoring ego, to set aside plans and busyness, and simply to be present in my body, to offer myself up.”  I know that this is something that takes conscious attention on my part. I am a doer…have always been a doer…and will likely always be a doer. My spiritual journey has been about learning to weave being into my doing, and creating time and  space every day to simply be.

Even in this time of finding Sanctuary at Home, I am busy connecting with people through emails, texts, phone calls, hand-written cards, Zoom calls, and daily messages. I am in a constant state of creativity…preparing classes, Sunday Services,  and since the start of Spring, I have been busy creating a vegetable garden. Now more than ever, I must find ways to bring Inner Stillness into my days.

I have come to understand that we are always creating, whether through physical action, through mental action, or both. I see my creative process as Dancing With God… a co-operative act that happens as I keep in mind that there but for the Grace of God go I. I am here as a conduit through which, and AS which, Spirit expresses Itself. It is by the Grace of the One that I have this healthy mind and body, and a particular set of traits, characteristics, interests, and abilities with which to interact with my world. I see my life as a series of relationships…with people, animals, plants, objects, and the beauty of Nature. I believe that my soul is empowered and my life is enriched by deep and meaningful relationships.

For me, relationship implies both a sense of belonging and a sense of stewardship. When I have a relationship with another, be it a person, animal, plant, or object, we belong with each other. In that belonging there is a give and take by each participant. Each depends on the other. It is easiest to see this in my relationships with living things. But  even if I look at my relationship with my house or my car…I depend on these for my shelter and safety, and they depend on me for maintenance and care. It is a complete cycle, a reciprocal relationship. This is where stewardship comes in.

I see stewardship as a mindful, even reverential act. Stewardship is taking responsibility for the care of something as an act of gratitude. So if I am a steward of something, it is my job to first give thanks for it; and then, to make sure all is right and well with it. One of the most important things in my life, and one that requires my stewardship, is relationship. Each of us has a need for reverent communion and celebration and we find opportunities for these experiences to unfold in relationship…with God, with self, with other people, with home and garden, and with personal belongings. This period of finding Sanctuary at Home can be an amazing space and time to steward more mindfully that which belongs to and with me, and to expand my sense of stewardship beyond the limited borders of my immediate experience. As I become more conscious of who I truly am, my area of responsibility grows. In a sense, I become my brother’s keeper. But this is feeling like a more expanded topic, which I will save for another morning…maybe tomorrow. For now…

May your day be filled with solitude, stillness, and reflection.

May you find time for being, and may you bring that being to your doing.

May your day be filled with Joyful Creation…may you Dance with God!

May your soul be empowered and your life be enriched by deep and meaningful relationships, and…

May you find both belonging and reverential stewardship in the precious and priceless experience of living.

May we all be well…stay in touch…know our unity…and thrive!

And may we know the Absolute Beauty and Wonder of this Grace-filled, once-in-a lifetime day…