Daily dose (April 8 – 11)

TUESDAY APRIL 8 —

“It may not be in our power to determine how things will unfold, but it is in our power to decide how we respond. It is in our power to hold on to the practices that nourish us, inform us, and give us courage.” (Thank you, Adam Bucko)

This week, with the witness Mother Pollard and Dr. Martin Luther King and others, let us look for more bridges—reconciliation, grace, healing, hope—that we can cross.
And this week stories about the permission to serve. And hearts full of grace. Not one of these people woke up one morning, and said to themselves that they were about to do something heroic. It’s just that, when they had to, they did what was right.
But how can I model these icons? Moments of epiphany also invite a paradigm shift… from big world to small world. We forget that change happens (ferments and grows) in the small world, not the big world.
You see, the big world feels (too often) overwhelming and outside of our ability to change or affect change. Plus, you know, “we don’t have the skill set”. No wonder it is so easy to give up when we see only big world issues. “It’s not my problem, after all.” And the big world takes us away from this moment… and the people who are right in front of us…
“There is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” Amanda Gorman

And remember; this call to spill light is not merely something we “should” do, as if an obligatory check mark on a resume. This is something we are wired to do—because spilling the light is in our DNA.
Dr. King’s reminder, “Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

“In the stillness of quiet, if we listen, we can hear the whisper of the heart giving strength to weakness, courage to fear, hope to despair.” Howard Thurman

WEDNESDAY APRIL 9 —

After a long day of travel, I write this from Edinburgh, Scotland. On a very sunny day. (I’m grateful. And “Amen,” says this Seattle boy.)
On arrival, we’re staying not far from St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral (the Mother Church of all Scottish Episcopal churches), majestic and radiant. Now walking one of the streets in Old Town, and I’m delightedly in awe of the stone, and the history. Masonry and history, a wholehearted invitation to pause. And to be grounded. Yes, there are stories to be told.
And I know that I said this week we would be telling stories about the permission to serve. With hearts full of grace. Bridges of reconciliation, grace, healing and hope.
But first, this affirmation from Mary Oliver.
“it is a serious thing
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in this broken world.”

And I love this from Liz Walker. “The exterior work of social justice is only as strong as the interior work that births and fuels it. Storytelling, listening, movement, and music all represent the gentle, interior healing necessary to empower the hard work of social change.”
Ahhh yes, the gift of self-healing. And a good first step is gratitude for gifts of wonder, and beauty, and presence—the sacrament of the present moment.
And time for some jet-lag sleep. Onward together my Sabbath Moment friends.

“In the stillness of quiet, if we listen, we can hear the whisper of the heart giving strength to weakness, courage to fear, hope to despair.” Thank you, Howard Thurman.

Prayer for our week…
“We do not become healers.
We came as healers.
We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become storytellers.
We came as carriers of the stories
we and our ancestors actually lived.
We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become artists.
We came as artists.
We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become writers… dancers… musicians…
helpers… peacemakers.
We came as such.
We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.”
Clarissa Pinkola Estés 

Photo… “Hello Terry! Thank you for inspiring us every day. These beautiful sea stars are making a comeback in Southern California. They are so inspiring as as all of nature. God’s beauty in the tide-pools. Blessings,” Mary Beth McGowan… Thank you Mary Beth… I’m so grateful for your photos, please send them to tdh@terryhershey.com