Year: 2021

Fragments on Fragments #26: Being Human in a Pandemic

Still more is it impossible to grasp the wholeness of a human being in their manifold complexity. Yes, we can understand some parts pretty well, and Western science has come an extraordinarily long way in understanding how bodies work, but each individual’s uniqueness means that even where we know the most, there is a vast amount more to discover. Faiths and philosophies around the world have explored the deep spiritual waters of the human soul, without any signs as yet of plumbing the depths.

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The Blessing of Snow

“Wherever you spend most of your waking time, glimpse out a window. What element of creation do you experience as mystical? In what environment do you feel God?”

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Becoming who we are Called to Be

“Yesterday was a day when we teetered on the brink of deep waters—waters that, if they were to close over our heads, threaten to overwhelm us and all that we hold dear.”

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Rose Petals

“I write all of this to add memorial upon memorial, but also because I think dignity, these days, is so seldom accorded. Dignity, the simple dignity of being a child of God, a creature of the earth, and a soul of the universe.”

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Whatever Is

“Turn my senses to the gifts in front of me. Help me to see the beauty of a sunset, the warmth of a loved one’s hand, a hand-written note, and a meal shared with family as signs of your presence.”

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Ron Beathard: Holy Simplicity

A farmer once told me that, when plowing a field, he can both feel and hear differences when the plow crosses an old, forgotten, unmarked grave.  Perhaps, like the farmer’s knowing plow, differences can be felt here sitting on the ground in a Shaker cemetery.  Should I be kneeling?

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