How much better is silence; the coffee cup, the table.

How much better to sit by myself like the solitary sea-bird that opens its wings on the stake.

Let me sit here for ever with bare things, this coffee cup, this knife, this fork, things in themselves,

myself being myself.

~Virginia Woolf

choosing serenity…..

inquiry for today~ where will despair meet this summer day?

how to find these knowings…..

Summer Solstice Blessing

Radiant One,

creator of the cosmos

and the luminaries which light our way,

bless this day of longest light

and the gift of the sun

to bring warmth to our lives

and abundance of growth,

sweetness of blueberries,

refreshment of lemons,

nourishment of kale

and a thousand other kinds of food.

We sing in gratitude

along with the sparrows and robins

rising each morning

to celebrate another day.

Help us remember

the universe came into being

14 billion years ago,

with ancient skies unfurling,

stars spilling across the heavens,

and manifesting in every living thing.

Light is our inheritance,

calling us to be bearers of radiance,

bringing new life

from the fertile darkness.

~Christine Valters Paintner