Tag Archives: being present

Spacious Sanctuary

Posted on October 9, 2020 by ivonprefontaine

Wendell Berry wrote a series of poems about Sabbath and taking time to let the spirit mend and heal. Wayne Muller wrote a book called Sabbath and provided a number of Sabbath practices from various traditions. After we read the book, we used practices and wrote reflections about how we each responded to them at a hospitality retreat.

How each find moments of peace and solace in a busy world is personal and reflects who we are as humans. For me, it is time spent walking, reading poetry, and writing. It is challenging as I need to adhere to a routine without being to rigid. What I observe, feel, hear, etc. needs to able to reach me in meaningful ways.

I wrote this poems as I entered a lengthy Sabbath period, taking time away from screens of various types.

Stepping aside–

Easing into spacious spaces;

Sensing stillness–

Unsquaring eyes,

Fidgeting less,

Being.

Resting–

Embracing wakefulness;

Emerging from frenetic hibernation–

Moving yet remaining still–

Enriching spirit,

Rediscovering lightness of being.

I took this picture on a hike in Glacier National Park. Nature just is. It exists for the sole purpose of existing. Humans need to do this more; just be in a given moment or time.

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Posted in Blogging, Leadership, Mindful Life, Nature in All Its Glory, Photography, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath, teacher as transformer, Writing and tagged being present, busyness, Glacier National Park, healing, health, mindfulness, nature, reflecting, reflective practices, sabbath, Sanctuary, spirituality, Walking, Wayne Muller, Wendell Berry. Bookmark the permalink.

one step, then another

Posted on March 19, 2020 by ivonprefontaine

via one step, then another

We live in challenging times and I do not mean just because of the corona virus. I think a world defined by others in ways that make it incomprehensible for each of us is part of that challenge. I find it easy to critique the neo-liberal agenda many of our politicians, technocrats, bureaucrats, plutocrats, etc. have fashioned. The questions I return to is what do I control and how can I live my life in ways that reflect courage, faith, and hope.

Carrie uses those last words in her post one step, then another. She called her blog Lead Our Lives, which is appropriate for these days and for each we will live moving forward moment by moment. I counsel hockey players, students, and many others the only things we control are what we control. I cannot control what other people do and this calls on me to lead my life and not someone else’s.

The first lines in Carrie’s post are from Thomas Merton, who I use often. To close, Carrie uses Howard Thurman, reminding me in silence I hear my heart whisper how to find strength from weakness, courage from fear, and hope from despair. Perhaps, I discover, in those moments, peace; perhaps it discovers me.

The movement of hope to despair echoes the Prayer of St. Francis, which has been with me throughout my life. I offer you those words to guide you in moments of silence.

Take care, be well, and discover the opportunities amidst the challenges of each moment.

I retrieved the image from Pinterest.

Posted in Community, Leadership, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath, Social Justice, teacher as transformer, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged being present, blogging, Buddhism, faith, family, Lead Our Lives, life, Mindful Attitude, mindfulness in daily life, one step then another, presence, relationships, writing. Bookmark the permalink. 19 Comments

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

Posted on October 30, 2019 by ivonprefontaine

via Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

Yesterday was a day of riches as this wonderful Mary Oliver poem was posted by Dawn and re-blogged by John and Kenne.

There are prayerful and questioning qualities in Mary Oliver’s poetry that challenge me to think about the universe as a place where each sentient and non-sentient being thrives and flourishes. We grow mindful of our needs as they relate to the needs of other living and non-living being. Living is a practical and ethical way of standing in the world. Practical and ethical ways of living are essential to growing spiritually and acting with care towards sentient and non-sentient beings.

Wendell Berry has a poem entitled The Wild Geese asking me to be thankful for the gifts that come to me each day. What do I take-for-granted? What do I overlook and treat as ordinary that I can celebrate as (extra)ordinary? As Mary Oliver asks, “how does my body ‘love what it loves?'” How do I notice the universe and let myself find its way home each day?

Here, is a video of me reading the two poems about geese and the poet’s reminder of being present to what is here.

Posted in Community, Leadership, Mindful Life, Nature in All Its Glory, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath, teacher as transformer, Uncategorized, Videos, Writing and tagged being present, blogging, Dawn Lhamo, environment, Home, intuition, John Coyote, Kenne Turner, life, Mary Oliver, mindfulness, nature, The Wild Geese, Wendell Berry, wild geese. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments

goldenquotesrb

Posted on March 22, 2017 by ivonprefontaine

Source: goldenquotesrb

I began following this blog recently and it has many great quotes.

Einstein is one of my favourite sources for quotes. When I taught, I had a poster in the classroom with this quote: “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”

One day, a student asked who the person in the poster was. I replied that it was my dad. Another student said that could not be true. I answered that we both had wild hair and were eccentric. A third student pointed out Einstein’s name on the poster, but from that time on, students always asked which dad I talked about when I said something about my dad. It was a great way to teach about literal and figurative ideas.

Being present includes responding reflexively in appropriate ways. Listening to others mindfully, I can respond properly. When I began to teach, I found it hard to do that, often tripping up, saying the wrong thing, and sometimes nothing at all. With experience, I grew and became more effective, listening carefully to what others had to say.