Pray and Paddle

After a nor'easter a week prior, the river level has risen. We need the rain. 10 intrepid paddlers savored the colors of fall on our home water, the Ipswich River. Our paddle was accompanied by wisdom readings from Bill McKibben ...

“It seems to me that what I care most about is preserving a world that bears some resemblance to the past—a world with some ice at the top and bottom and the odd coral reef in between — a world where people are connected to the past and future (and to one another) instead of turned into obsolete software.”
~ Bill McKibben, environmental author and activist, founder 350.org

Hosted by North Shore SING (nssing.org), which hosts monthly hikes and paddles in partnership with Ipswich River Watershed Association

On a bluebird morning in early Autumn, we paddled the Ipswich River. The paddling was good with a raised water level from a recent storm. The colors beginning to pop! Ten kayakers accompanied by the wisdom of Bill McKibben, environmental prophet. We paddled with a meditative vibe, immersing ourselves in the beauty and wonder of the moment. Does it get any better?

McKibben writes, '"There are times (in nature) when I can almost feel myself simply being." Yes ...

Hosted by NS SING (nssing.org) and Ipswich River Watershed Association. We hike and paddle monthly year round, follow along to RSVP for upcoming events.

There's a threefold rhythm to a spiritual journey ... listening, noticing, responding. It's about turning off our phone, disconnecting from technology, ignoring Ai ... and in so doing, experiencing what is, right here, right now. Listen ...

'Everything in creation is a glittering, glistening mirror of Divinity!' ~ Hildegard of Bingen, 12th century mystic, botanist, composer and theological rabble rouser

'Mystics see the interconnectivity of everything'. ~ Matthew Fox

Early October gift … 80 degrees. What to do?

‘My work consists (mostly) of being still and learning to be astonished.’
- Mary Oliver, poet, mystic

'In silence God ceases to be an object and becomes an experience.'
~ Thomas Merton 1915 - 1968, Trappist monk and mystic

To cultivate silence is a profoundly countercultural way of moving and being. How do you cultivate silence? Have there been moments when silence has led you too, to threshold moments of experiencing the divine?

photo: Palmer River (tidal) Barrington, R,.I.

Here's a blessing for all travelers, whether near or far ...

When you travel,
A new silence
Goes with you,
And if you listen,
You will hear
What your heart would
Love to say.
A journey can become a sacred thing.

Make sure, before you go,
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you towards
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life;
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.
~ John O'Donohue 1956 - 2008, Irish philosopher, poet, mystic, excerpt from 'To Bless the Space Between Us'

Sometimes I think, 'the world is going to hell in a hand basket' (not quite sure what that means, but it isn't good). And then my spirit is unexpectedly lifted by art which both makes me smile and think.

And so I say, "pfffft to those who build vanity monuments in praise only to themself" (you know of whom I speak) ... and, "yes! to artists who create only to inspire and uplift."

Enjoy these 'pop up crows' along the Portland, Oregon Wildwood Art Trail, 30 crow statues, spread around the city.

‘There is a voice that doesn’t use words.’
- Rumi, 1207 - 1273 CE, Persian poet, Sufi mystic

Have you too, heard such a voice?

A joy of traveling is experiencing the diversity and beauty of our natural world. Such joy is a contrast to those who view nature first and foremost as a commodity.

Yesterday , following a family wedding, we explored the mountains above the coastal city of Santa Barbara, with stands of ancient coastal oak … mixed with olive trees and vineyards. An ecosystem both cultivated and natural.

The California coastal live oak woodland and savanna is a native Mediterranean ecosystem characterized by widely spaced Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) trees—Santa Barbara's official native tree—over an understory of perennial grasses and variable ground vegetation … Bonita!

Wisdom …

“Sometimes I need
only to stand
wherever I am
to be blessed.”
- Mary Oliver, poet, mystic