12.2.2024. Inaudible Psalms
“I’ll share with you the truth I’ve found:
that life is full of a darkness which can
enlighten you in its own way; there’s
a thread there to guide you, but to find
it you'll need to look within yourself.”
— Meister Eckhart
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Life turns on a dime. We all know this to be true. One minute, I am upright running on free, on a trail through a cathedral of trees breathing in the inaudible psalms riding on the wind. The next moment, I am down, teetering first on confusion, then lost on a sea of sorrow and anger, taking in my car passenger window smashed, a million pieces of tiny glass on the ground, purse gone.
I watched all my reflexive harden-tight fist reactions arise (not my finest moment) zig-zagging me about like Mr Toad's Wild Ride.
Difficult times, emotions, heartbreak and fear are unavoidable, and can take all of us over, swallow us whole and dine on us for dinner. Life and things just seem to fall apart and dwell in unfathomable mystery too.
I have no magic pill to offer, no quick fix, or escape door or even a perfect answer here. Just a share — Meditation, prayer, contemplative practices and teachings, have become my life boat, essential. Where my heart keeps returning to learn equanimity, kindness and compassion to myself and others.
Please know, I am not speaking of perfect Instagram looking practice. Just the 'showing up' real resisting practice. The going to the 'gym' even when you don't want to practice. The sitting in messy and unbearable brokenness practice.
Turning to practice is one antidote to work with the mind that wants to run our life and hearts amok.
Returning again and again to practice,
to silence, to breath, to the knower inside, we learn over time
to grow bones of familiarity, this becomes our new reflexive reaction,
consolidating prayer.
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So grateful we are here, together.
✨LAST CALL. Embodiment Retreat: Awaken Your Yes! A Day of Body, Breath & Pause. Next Monday, December 9, 9:30am - 3:30pm. Embodiment practices are the threshold to access your inner knower, your ‘yes’. It begins with your body, your breath.
🌸 Below, lovely offerings for your Heart: 2 Poems. 3 Quotes. 1 Invitation. 1 Last Call. 1 Closing Indie Folk Song.
🌸 Two Poems to Share.
Mind Wanting More | Holly Hughes
Only a beige slat of sun
above the horizon, like a shade pulled
not quite down. Otherwise,
clouds. Sea rippled here and
there. Birds reluctant to fly.
The mind wants a shaft of sun to
stir the grey porridge of clouds,
an osprey to stitch sea to sky
with its barred wings, some dramatic
music: a symphony, perhaps
a Chinese gong.
But the mind always
wants more than it has --
one more bright day of sun,
one more clear night in bed
with the moon; one more hour
to get the words right; one
more chance for the heart in hiding
to emerge from its thicket
in dried grasses -- as if this quiet day
with its tentative light weren't enough,
as if joy weren't strewn all around.
Perhaps | Morgan Harper Nichols
“...and perhaps
what made her beautiful
was not her appearance
or what she achieved,
but in her love
and in her courage,
and her audacity
to believe:
no matter
the darkness
around her,
Light ran wild
within her,
and that was the way
she came alive,
and it showed up
in everything.”
🌸 Three Quotes | Robin Wall Kimmerer. Thich Nhat Hanh. Sallie Jiko Tisdale.
“Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.”
Essentials of practice to apply each day by Thich Nhat Hanh, The Sun My Heart:
“While buttoning my jacket
I hope that all beings
Will keep their hearts warm
And not lose themselves.”
“The most effective thing in getting to know death isn’t being with dying people but sensing myself as being a continually dying person.” — Sallie Jiko Tisdale, “Travel Guide to the End of Life”
🌸 An Invitation | A Special Screening of The (M) Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause
Hosted by Midlife Upgrade, Pamela DeRose & Julie Fedeli. "The (M) Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause" film explores the hidden impact of menopause on women's lives.
Menopause has ramifications beyond just an individual woman's well-being. With evidence-based information, the film empowers women to make informed health decisions and aims to remove the stigma surrounding menopause and aging.
What a great opportunity to experience the film that's breaking the silence on menopause and sparking a movement for change. Watch trailer here
Sunday December 8th
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Woman’s Club of Wilmette
930 Greenleaf Avenue
Wilmette, IL 60091
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🌸 LAST CALL | Embodiment Retreat: Awaken Your Yes! ✨
A Day of Body, Breath & Pause
Next Monday, December 9, 9:30am - 3:30pm.
Embodiment practices are the threshold to access your innate well-being and inner knower. It begins with your body & breath. It begins with declaring:
“Yes. I give myself permission to take time-out for myself.
To stop for just a moment the outer busy do, the outer noise, the outer take-care & please others and go inward to the room inside of me
to see and hear who is there.”
Give yourself a day of self-discovery. Deepening the ‘Yes’ that resides within you through Breath, Movement, Meditation, Yoga Nidra, Reflective Dialogue, Ritual, and Contemplative Writing. If this speaks to your heart, come join us.
Human connection is so essential right now.
Please consider joining us.
All are welcome!
🌿
Here is what you need to know:
Monday December 9th.
9:30am - 3:30pm.
A nutritious seasonal lunch is included.
Led by Megan Dunne Krouse, Courtney Riley & Wini Nimrod
Women's Club of Wilmette
930 Greenleaf Avenue in Wilmette
Space is Limited (4 SPOTS OPEN!)
🌿 Scholarships are available.
Reach out to Courtney, all requests honored and held sacred.
🌸 Closing Song | The Stable Song
A beautiful listen. Considered one of the best indie folk songs of the last decade, Stable Song by Gregory Alan Isakov played here with the Colorado Symphony.
A tender ballad dancing a balance of loss and hope speaking to the human experience, skillfully blending deep introspection with evocative melodies, creating a song that feels both personal and universally resonant.
“Remember when our songs were just like prayers?
Like gospel hymns that you called in the air
Come down, come down, sweet reverence
Unto my simple house and ring…”
Listen to here on Spotify (6:09 min)
Listen here on YouTube (6:00 min)
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🌸 So Grateful You Are Part of This Community. 🌿 Thank you for being here!
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please feel free to share it with someone who might need dollops of goodness for their heart.
This Metta Newsletter is a Love-offering
✨ an offering to bloom more Light
💞 more Goodness
🌎 more gorgeous-tenderness on our planet.
Please consider making a small donation to support the Metta Mondays newsletter rippling out into the world for the benefit of all.
*Venmo : https://venmo.com/u/Winifred-Nimrod
Zelle: wininim@gmail.com or 847.312.9313
Until next week. 💖 ✨
