Friday, May 7, 2010

Appreciate those of you who tuned in. . .

I'm hoping more readers of the Raven's Bread newsletter will be joining us shortly.

Maybe a living network will grow from this for those of us whose spiritual life leads us to a place of Solitude. I capitalize Solitude because for me it represents a sacred capacity. There is nothing negative there. It's a quality beyond mere words and ideas. It is a beyond that is beyond.

The din of culture annoys me with its lies and attempts to create a virtual reality that is unsustainable. My life depends on practices which encourage the soul's refuge in Silence.

Right now I'm in a hotel in Amish country near Lancaster, PA. Ann and I started taking short driving trips in spring and fall a couple of years ago to get on ground level again after years of flying. There's so much we've missed being captives to the competitive driving of interstate traffic.

Outside I can see a hitch of six Belgian draft horses pulling a "honey wagon" full of fertilizer over the fields. The driver is young and skillful and vulnerable to accident and I doubt he can outrun the smell of what he's delivering. This not "big farming" where the activity is all motorized and the tractor is air conditioned and fitted out with a TV to keep the driver busy and conveniently away from his work.

There's an incredible integrity to what the Amish driver represents for me. He works in Silence among powerful forces that could conceivably kill him if he doesn't pay attention in the here and now. Farm machinery can be dangerous. I grew up in rural America and learned from it. I know who this driver is and what he's doing.

I pray for his safety and attention in this moment and give thanks for his spiritual work so tied to the earth.

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