Creation is the matrix from which all of my work and loving in the world are made possible.  I remember that nature is the primary expression of divine artistry and that my own creativity is an expression of the world’s blossoming around me.  I embrace a healthy ascetic practice shaped by a deep kinship with creation and I am committed to its flourishing.

One of the monastic practices I love most is praying the Hours as a way of becoming deeply aware of how each day rises and falls.  As a monk in the world I am called to be fully present to the gifts and invitations of dawn, day, dusk, and dark.  I am to remember that these are seasons of my own spiritual journey as well.

~Christine Valters Paintner

the moments of being stripped bare….the moment of true flourishing….

inquiry for today~ slip into the silent pause…..

the work of your life

There is greater comfort

in the substance of silence

than in the the answer to a question.

~Thomas Merton