Wander One: Praise & Thanks
Wander One: Praise and Thanks Walk
using our gift of speaking to give a beautiful imperfect offering
Humans have the magic gift of speech*. Or the gift of magic speech. It is part of our responsibility to use it in service of each other.
I'd like to invite you to let the space you occupy become magical as you walk.
Walk out into your world, whether it be urban jungle or farmstead or maybe right now it can only be within your apartment. Be aware of your feet on the earth. What would it be like for every step to be a thank you as you travel across Her? Where is she in these boards, this floor?
You encounter non-human beings on your walk. Perhaps it is a plant being or insect or the sunlight you encounter and approach. If possible notice the wilder ones, not the ones that mirror our own domestication. The dandelion in your grassy lawn, the sparrow outrunning your domestic cat.
Introduce yourself, then use your gift of speech (or perhaps it is a different gift you have to use) to describe the beauty of the being(s) you encounter to themselves. They have no mirror. Offer your eloquent words to describe them to themselves. What touches you about them that you are noticing or grateful for? Be with the feeling of it in you, if your words feel inadequate or clunky or silly, stay with it. It can be innocent, amateurish, and feverish as the love poems of teenage romance. Love on them with your voice. If your praise and gratitude become a song or a dance or a drawing, just let it flow. If it feels awkward, great, just don't let it stop you.
When you finish, come to a threshold, to close your time and come back.
Always follow your own intuition over any guideline.
Always follow your own intuition over any guideline.
If you feel like it, please share your experience in the comments section. I will share mine there.
*More on the power of speech Ruiz—4 Agreements & Kimmerer—Braiding Sweetgrass
Hello Friends-
ReplyDeleteI went on my wander yesterday through the small desert town of Moab, Utah. Smaller now from the lack of tourists, and greener for the coming of spring.
Every trail, every street, every little place to eat, would normally be crawling with tourists, locals, and the influx of seasonal employees we get every spring. Nothing short of a city bustle; replacing sirens for the sounds diesel engines and ATV mufflers.
So I escaped through town instead of hiking, and couldn't believe how many birds I could hear. I got to pinpoint the warble of a crow. Find feathered sopranos quietly hopping underneath a shrub. Smell the rustle of spring flowers pass through the wind. Not as eery as the barren roads would suggest, but comforting.
In the act of drawing my awareness to the outside world- it felt like I was unconsciously draining shadows that creep into my heart in a way that other hikes and outside movement have not. The distraction of focusing on other beautiful life tricked my body into letting me be.
Ever grateful for you Inder, and the world you inspire. <3
After reading your "proposal" and "praise and thanks", I serendipitously found a poem I had seen earlier written by St. John of the Cross:
ReplyDeleteI was sad one day and went for a walk,
I sat in a field.
A rabbit noticed my condition and
Came near.
It often does not take more than that to
help -
Just to be close to those who
Are so full of knowing,
So full of love
that they don't
---- chat,
they just gaze with their
marvelous understanding.
The poem gave greater meaning to your wander; and your wander gave greater meaning to the poem. thank you.
Friends, a few have expressed having issues with posting. It seems the easiest way is if you have a gmail/google account but you can also post anonymously and then sign your name. I have not had luck with the name/url option. If you are signed into your gmail or google account on your browser when you try to comment, I believe it will automatically show up as this in the dropdown menu. I have also had success posting as "anonymous" from the drop down menu and then you can just sign your name at the end of the post. If you have questions or want me to post your comment for you, just email me. If you are a tech wizard and can explain this better, or know how the Name/URL option works, let us know! Thanks! Inder
ReplyDelete