On This Summer Solstice, A Call for Unity Through the Divine Fire Within

In celebration of the Summer Solstice, I share an excerpt from the book, The Circle of Life: The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr.

I’ve previously shared this excerpt but have decided to do so again as its imagery of the “great illuminating energy” of the “lights of the cosmos” unifying “all people on the planet in a great oneness” seems both appropriate and timely given the especially fractious current state of our world.

I also appreciate how the writers connect this cosmic light with the “unquenchable fire shining within each person, a light that is strong, deep, and enduring.” I don't know about you, but during these turbulent, often disheartening times I need reminding of this “divine fire within us” and its “energizing and healing light.”

_______________________

We proclaim that the lights of the cosmos unite all people on the planet in a great oneness. As the fiery stars, the intense sun, and the reflective moonlight shine on us, so they bathe each one who dwells on this beautiful sphere of life with a great illuminating energy.

We proclaim that there is an unquenchable fire shining within each person, a light that is strong, deep, and enduring. It is the vigilant fire in the hearth of the soul, maintaining hope and truth amid life’s many ups and downs.

We proclaim that the fire of those who have gone before us has never left this earth. We are heartened by the truth that their sacred fire has become an eternal light that leads us on, a fire continually blessing us, encouraging us, affirming us to live our life to the fullest for our own benefit as well as for the good of all humankind.

We proclaim that the fire within cannot be contained. It seeks to move out, to permeate, to enter into every place that lacks passion and vitality. When the inmost self is opened with love, trust, and confidence, an energizing and healing light shines forth to fill the corners of the world.

We proclaim that there is a divine fire within us that is immeasurably loving, inconceivably caring, consistently non-judgmental, and enormously passionate. This light will never give up on us. It will cherish us into eternity.

We proclaim that the light within us is beautiful, precious, and wild. We urge everyone to do all they can to tend this fire, to care for it with courage and kindness. Let the inner light shine forth radiantly so all will benefit from the power of this immense warmth and goodness.

– Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr
Excerpted from The Circle of Life:
The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons
(Sorin Books, 2005)

Related Off-site Links:
Love and Divine Fire – William Keepin (OMTimes Magazine, December 2018).
This Year’s Summer Solstice Is the Earliest Since 1796 – Rachel Treisman (NPR News, June 209, 2024).
Summer Solstice 2024 Marks the Longest Day in the Northern Hemisphere – Daisy Dobrijevic (Space.com, June 20, 2024).
A Summer Blessing – The Leveret (June 21, 2019).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Aligning With the Living Light
• Being the Light
• The Light Within
• Balancing the Fire
• Andrew Harvey on Radical, Divine Passion in Action
• Keeping the Spark Alive
• Thoughts on Christian Meditation: Fire and Light
• A Summer Solstice Reflection
• Celebrating the Summer Solstice
• A Summer Sunset Psalm
• In Summer Light
• Summer Blooms
• Summer Boy
• Beltane and the Fire Within
• The Sun Is All Around You
• The Source Is Within You
• Like the Sun

Image: Artist unknown.

Feeling Abandoned

And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice . . . “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

– Matthew 27:46

The Wild Reed’s 2024 Holy Week series continues with a third excerpt from Joyce Rupp’s 2023 book Jesus, Companion in My Suffering: Reflections for the Lenten Journey.

______________

Jesus felt left alone and forgotten. He lost all sense of consolation by the very one he had trusted as his Abba – the tender Father he communed with in his night vigils. No wonder his voice pierced the air with that anguished cry saturated with despair. Those words of Jesus declared the ultimate sense of defeat, empty and departed of hope. In his bleak hours of not only being crucified but also feeling desperately forsaken, Jesus knew the pain of an awareness of divine presence known to provide desperate relief from the fear of oblivion now being vanquished.

Decades ago, I sat by the bedside of a community member. She was my spiritual mentor, a woman fully committed to daily prayer and union with her Beloved. Sr. Perpetua’s physical pain came from bone cancer, but it was her spiritual suffering that startled me. She who had relished such a strong union with the Divine, whispered in a frail voice: “I’m unable to pray. Everything is dark. I can’t find God. Please pray for me.”

Her experience led me to open my heart to persons unable to conjure even a whisper of felt faith. If we ourselves have not been ambushed by this sense of being deserted by the Holy One, we can steadfastly support those who have felt such agony.


Desolate One,
how fully you lived our human experience,
even to the most utter barrenness of soul.
If my faith in you becomes just a distant memory,
remind me of your forsaken cry from the Cross
and draw me close to your empathetic heart.


Today: I remember how I have known the Holy One's steadfast love.

– Joyce Rupp
Excerpted from Jesus, Companion in My Suffering:
Reflections for the Lenten Journey
Ave Maria Press, 2023
pp. 102-103

NEXT: Joy Beyond Suffering


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• No Deeper Darkness
• The Passion of Christ – Jesus Goes to His Execution
• The Passion of Christ – Jesus is Nailed the Cross
• The Passion of Christ – Jesus Dies
• Suffering and Redemption
• A Vortex of the Miraclulous

Image: Giovanni Gasparro.

Powerless

Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.

– Luke 22:42

The Wild Reed’s 2024 Holy Week series continues with a second excerpt from Joyce Rupp’s 2023 book Jesus, Companion in My Suffering: Reflections for the Lenten Journey.

__________________

How agonizing for Jesus to admit an inability to sidestep his coming Passion and death. In the past, he demonstrated so much strength as he guided his ministry and life. Now he humbly submits and acknowledges that he cannot change this dreadful situation. And so, in the last hours of his physical life, Jesus again enters fully into our human condition.

Whether we want to admit it or not, none of us has complete rule over how our lives unfold. We try everything possible to preserve our self-reliance and be in control. We do our utmost to make things turn out the way we want – only to find that at some point we, too, are unable to have our journey evolve in a way that completely satisfies us.

Author Chris Anderson reflects on this reality in Light When It Comes. He suggests that powerlessness can be a source of profound personal transformation: “Sooner or later we have to face the suffering and emptiness and apparent randomness of the world and of our powerlessness before it. And until then, we can’t be healthy. That’s the paradox. Until we admit our need, we can never be happy. And that’s what Christ did. He embraced the emptiness so completely and lovingly he transformed it forever. . . . The story of Jesus is the story of the letting go and the giving up we have to do every day of our lives.”


Vulnerable Leader,
your ability to admit to powerlessness
gives me the courage to acknowledge my own.
When it is time to release what I cannot control,
be at my faltering side. Strengthen my intention
to yield what is impossible for me to change.


Today: I unite what I cannot change with the experience of Jesus.

– Joyce Rupp
Excerpted from Jesus, Companion in My Suffering:
Reflections for the Lenten Journey
Ave Maria Press, 2023
pp. 98-99

NEXT: Feeling Abandoned


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• In This In-Between Time . . . of Both Loss and Promise
• The Two Entwined Events of the Easter Experience
• “To Die and So to Grow”
• The Way of the Wounded Warrior
• Suffering and Redemption
• A God With Whom It is Possible to Connect
• Jesus and the Art of Letting Go
• Within the Mystery, a Strange and Empty State of Suspension
• An Expression of Human Solidarity
• No Other Way

Image: BeardyRanksArt.

Recognizing the Truth

– Art: milky-herring1

Then Jesus said . . . “You will know the truth,
and the truth will make you free.”

– John 8:31-32

This year for Holy Week I’ll be sharing a series of excerpts from Joyce Rupp’s 2023 book Jesus, Companion in My Suffering: Reflections for the Lenten Journey.

______________

Jesus speaks about inner freedom to his disciples. When we know ourselves well enough to live from our center of goodness, that truth will liberate us to love as our most authentic self. Do we act out of the truth of our inherent virtues, or do we react in a way that adds to the suffering of self and others? I often find it both challenging and painful to confront what I’ve managed to avoid.

. . . [Yet] seeing the truth about ourselves does not always mean uncovering something negative or undesirable. We may have disallowed or been unaware of our virtuous qualities, so that “finding the truth about ourselves” can refer to discovering and claiming the constructive qualities that lie dormant within us. This revelation is what rests at the heart of Macrina Wiederkehr’s wonderful prayer: “Help me to believe the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful it is.”


Bearer of Truth,
guide me to a clearer and fuller perception
of the unknown parts of who I truly am.
I desire to set aside any fear of what I might find.
I will gladly proceed in discovering and claiming
whatever will lead to a closer union with you.


Today: I ponder a truth about myself that asks for greater acceptance.

– Joyce Rupp
Excerpted from Jesus, Companion in My Suffering:
Reflections for the Lenten Journey
Ave Maria Press, 2023
pp. 88-89

NEXT: Powerless

For The Wild Reed’s 2023 Holy Week series (featuring excerpts from Marianne Williamson’s book, The Gift of Change: Spiritual Guidance for a Radically New Life), see:
• From Spiritual Death to Rebirth
• A Vortex of the Miraculous
• Tomb Time
• He Is Risen, and So Are You





The Wild Reed’s 2022 Holy Week posts:
• “The Most Authentic Statement of Created Life”
• Good Friday Reflections
• “This Spring, May We Renew the World”
• Easter for Mystics


The Wild Reed’s 2021 Holy Week post:
• The Final Say


The Wild Reed’s 2020 Holy Week posts:
• Holy Week, 2020
• God’s Good Gift


The Wild Reed’s 2019 Holy Week post:
• In This In-Between Time . . . of Both Loss and Promise

For The Wild Reed’s 2018 Holy Week series (featuring excerpts from Druid author and speaker John Michael Greer’s essay “The God from the House of Bread” in the 2012 anthology, Jesus Through Pagan Eyes: Bridging Neopagan Perspectives with a Progressive Vision of Christ), see:
• The God from the House of Bread: A Bridge Between Christianity and Paganism (Part 1)
• The God from the House of Bread (Part 2)
• The God from the House of Bread (Part 3)
• The God from the House of Bread (Part 4)




For The Wild Reed’s 2017 Holy Week series (featuring excerpts from a 1999 interview with scholar and teacher Andrew Harvey, accompanied by images that depict Jesus as the embodiment of the Cosmic Christ), see:
• Jesus Our Guide to Mystical Love (Part 1)
• Jesus Our Guide to Mystical Love (Part 2)
• Jesus Our Guide to Mystical Love (Part 3)




For The Wild Reed’s 2016 Holy Week series (featuring excerpts from Richard Horsley’s 1993 book Jesus and the Spiral of Violence, accompanied by images of Juan Pablo Di Pace as Jesus in the 2015 NBC mini-series A.D.: The Bible Continues), see:
• Jesus and Social Revolution (Part 1)
• Jesus and Social Revolution (Part 2)
• Jesus and Social Revolution (Part 3)

For The Wild Reed’s 2015 Holy Week series (featuring excerpts from Cletus Wessels’ book Jesus in the New Universe Story), see:
• The Two Entwined Events of the Easter Experience
• Resurrection in an Emerging Universe
• Resurrection: A New Depth of Consciousness



For The Wild Reed’s 2014 Holy Week series (featuring excerpts from John Neafsey’s book A Sacred Voice is Calling: Personal Vocation and Social Conscience), see:
• “To Die and So to Grow”
• The Way of the Wounded Warrior
• Suffering and Redemption
• A God With Whom It is Possible to Connect
• A Discerning Balance Between Holiness and Wholeness: A Hallmark of the Resurrected Life

For The Wild Reed’s 2013 Holy Week series (featuring excerpts from Albert Nolan’s book Jesus Before Christianity, accompanied by images of Jesus that some might call "unconventional"), see:
• Jesus: The Upside-down Messiah
• Jesus: Mystic and Prophet
• Jesus and the Art of Letting Go
• Within the Mystery, a Strange and Empty State of Suspension
• Jesus: The Revelation of Oneness




For The Wild Reed’s 2012 Holy Week series (featuring excerpts from Cynthia Bourgeault’s book The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind – A New Perspective on Christ and His Message), see:
• The Passion: “A Sacred Path of Liberation”
• Beyond Anger and Guilt
• Judas and Peter
• No Deeper Darkness
• When Love Entered Hell
• The Resurrected Jesus . . .



For The Wild Reed’s 2011 Holy Week series (featuring excerpts from Albert Nolan’s book Jesus Before Christianity, accompanied by images of various cinematic depictions of Jesus), see:
• “Who Is This Man?”
• A Uniquely Liberated Man
• An Expression of Human Solidarity
• No Other Way
• Two Betrayals
• And What of Resurrection?
• Jesus: The Breakthrough in the History of Humanity
• To Believe in Jesus

For The Wild Reed’s 2010 Holy Week series (featuring excerpts from Andrew Harvey’s book Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ), see:
• Jesus: Path-Blazer of Radical Transformation
• The Essential Christ
• One Symbolic Iconoclastic Act
• One Overwhelming Fire of Love
• The Most Dangerous Kind of Rebel
• Resurrection: Beyond Words, Dogmas and All Possible Theological Formulations
• The Cosmic Christ: Brother, Lover, Friend, Divine and Tender Guide

For The Wild Reed’s 2009 Holy Week series (featuring the artwork of Doug Blanchard and the writings of Marcus Borg, James and Evelyn Whitehead, John Dominic Crossan, Andrew Harvey, Francis Webb, Dianna Ortiz, Uta Ranke-Heinemann and Paula Fredriksen), see:
• The Passion of Christ (Part 1) – Jesus Enters the City
• The Passion of Christ (Part 2) – Jesus Drives Out the Money Changers
• The Passion of Christ (Part 3) – Last Supper
• The Passion of Christ (Part 4) – Jesus Prays Alone
• The Passion of Christ (Part 5) – Jesus Before the People
• The Passion of Christ (Part 6) – Jesus Before the Soldiers
• The Passion of Christ (Part 7) – Jesus Goes to His Execution
• The Passion of Christ (Part 8) – Jesus is Nailed the Cross
• The Passion of Christ (Part 9) – Jesus Dies
• The Passion of Christ (Part 10) – Jesus Among the Dead
• The Passion of Christ (Part 11) – Jesus Appears to Mary
• The Passion of Christ (Part 12) – Jesus Appears to His Friends

Opening image: milky-herring1

A Prayer of Anchoring

I turn 58 today, and as has been the tradition at The Wild Reed, I mark the occasion of my birthday by sharing a song, prayer and/or reflection that I find particularly meaningful; that speaks to where I’m at on my journey.*

This year I’ve decided to share a prayer by Joyce Rupp from her book Return to the Root: Reflections on the Inner Life. Rupp is a gifted and prolific writer of spiritual material, most notably of prayers. In my work as a hospital chaplain I sometimes draw on prayers she’s written and either use then directly or in an adapted form with my patients.

The prayer of Joyce Rupp’s that I share today is entitled “A Prayer of Anchoring.” I’m drawn to it as with everything going on in the world right now, along with some things I’m dealing with in my personal life, I’m feeling the need to be centered – or, as Rupp says, anchored – in God in a very consistent and intentional way. Rupp’s prayer beautifully speaks to this desire, this need.

______________

A Prayer of Anchoring

I turn to you, Holy One,
in this time of turmoil
amid the waters of life and I pray:

Anchor my mind in your unswerving serenity
that lies beneath the wild waves of my discontent.

Anchor every heartbeat and breath of mine
in the wide ocean of your endless compassion.

Anchor ongoing longings for world peace
in the stream of your eternal harmony.

Anchor a respect for every human being
in the clear waters of your non-judgment.

Anchor in the steady undercurrent of your justice
each choice to end unbearable injustice.

Anchor deeply in your merciful forgiveness
any inner surges toward retaliation and revenge.

Anchor the best of my talents and abilities
to serve generously in the reservoir of your grace.

Anchor in the depths of your divine wisdom
my questions and concerns about the future.

Anchor every storm that riles my heart
in the gracious tranquility of your abiding love.

_________________

Lately I’ve been feeling somewhat adrift; not as centered and balanced as I know I can be and have been in the past. I know exactly what I need to do about this, and that is to develop and practice discipline in both my physical and spiritual life. Because I’m aware that the development of any kind of disciplined practice takes both focus and time, I’ve decided to take a hiatus from blogging for the next month or so as I work on establishing a physical exercise regime and a more consistent spiritual practice, one involving daily morning meditation. (Of course, this is not the first time I've taken a break from working on The Wild Reed. See, for instance, here, here, here and here.)

I know from experience that regular physical exercise and daily meditation works wonders in centering my mind, body and spirit in an awareness of the Divine Presence – the Living Light – within and around me. Such awareness is transformative.

Something else that centers me in an awareness of God is time spent with loved ones, with people who make a positive and transformative difference in my life. In celebrating my 58th birthday, I spent time with a number of such people, as you’ll see in the following images.

Above: My birthday celebrations got off to an early start with a wonderful brunch with my friends Rick (left) and Brian at Keys Café and Bakery in Roseville on Friday, October 20.

Above: Friends Tim and Colleen – Saturday, October 21, 2023. That’s Fiona, their Great Dane, in bed for the night on the couch.


Left: With Tim.

Tim and I were housemates from 2012-2018. (For some great pics of our time together, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.)

Above: With my friend Adnan – Sunday, October 22, 2023.

Above: A birthday eve dinner with friends (from left) John, Scott, Alicia, Dee, Phil, Liana, Amelia, and Noelle – Sunday, October 22, 2023.

Above: Pictured this morning celebrating my birthday with my wonderful colleagues on the interdisciplinary Palliative Care team at Mercy Hospital. I serve as the interfaith spiritual health provider (or chaplain) on this team.

From left: Nikki, Steph, Kari, Kate, Maddie and me. Another member of our team, Jenna, was away today.

Above: With members of Mercy Hospital’s Spiritual Care department. From left: Deanna, Aaron, Stephanie, Barson and me – October 23, 2023.

Above: Autumn beauty – today, Monday, October 23, 2023.


POSTSCRIPT: The celebrations continue! . . .

Above: With my Palliative Care team colleagues at Tandoor, an Indian restaurant in Maple Grove, MN – Wednesday, October 25, 2023. From left: Nikki, Kari, Steph, Maddie, me, and Kate.

Above: With my dear friend Joan at Hai Hai, a Southeast Asian restaurant in Minneapolis – Thursday, October 26, 2023.

Above: With my friends (and downstairs neighbors) Kathleen, Joseph and Calvin – Saturday, October 28, 2023.

With it being the Halloween weekend, we watched the first episode of the 2016 supernatural drama The Living and Dead. Set in rural England in the late 1800s, this BBC production is described by Noelle K. Bowles as “a complex tale of grief and horror that weaves its threads from violent personal and national history.”

Above: With my friend Angie at the Good Earth restaurant in The Galleria in Edina, MN – Sunday, October 29, 2023.

_____________________

* As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, it’s somewhat of a tradition to mark my birthday here at The Wild Reed by sharing a song or prayer or reflection that I find particularly meaningful. On my 44th birthday, for instance, I shared Stephan Gately’s performance of “No Matter What,” and when I turned 45 I shared “Where the Truth Lies” by the band Exchange.

In 2012, when I turned 47, I shared a prayer for balance at a very trying time, not only for myself, but for many of us here in Minnesota.

Seven years ago, on the first day of my fiftieth year, I shared a “guidepost on the journey,” and then one year later on the day of my 50th birthday, I shared Buffy Sainte-Marie’s rousing “It’s My Way.”

In 2017, when I turned 52, I shared a poem by John O’Donohue; while on my 53rd birthday I shared “Love Is,” a beautiful meditation on the mystery of love by my favorite male vocalist Carl Anderson.

The year I turned 54 I shared “This Is the Time,” a beautiful song by Senegalese singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Daby Touré, and when I turned 55 it was Black’s “Wonderful Life” that encapsulated much of what I found myself experiencing at that time.

When I turned 56 I shared Dusty Springfield’s reflective recording “Home to Myself,” while last year on my 57th birthday I shared the song “The Long Ride Home” by Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri.


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Deeper Understandings
• Home to Myself
• Moments of Wonder
• This Is the Time
• With Love Inside
• On This “Echoing-Day” of My Birth
• Turning 50
• A Guidepost on the Journey
• In the Eye of the Storm, a Tree of Living Flame
• Journeying Into the Truth . . . Valiantly, of Course
• No Matter What

See also:
• Shining On . . . Into the New Year
• In the Midst of the “Great Unraveling,” a Visit to the Prayer Tree
• A Sacred Pause
• Aligning With the Living Light
• Mystical Participation
• Threshold Musings
• Stepping Out of Time and Resting Your Mind
• In the Stillness and Silence of This Present Moment
• The Beauty and Challenge of Being Present in the Moment
• Today I Will Be Still
• Cultivating Stillness
• I Need Do Nothing . . . I Am Open to the Living Light
• Dwelling in Peace
• Finding Balance in the Presence of the Beloved
• Your Peace Is With Me, Beloved One
• Resting in the Presence of the Beloved

Autumn: Season of Transformation and Surrender

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This past Sunday (October 4, 2020) I went for a walk with my friend Carol along part of the Winchell Trail, a largely unpaved trail that winds about 2.5 miles along the west bank of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, from Franklin Avenue to Minnehaha Park. Named after Newton Horace Winchell, Minnesota’s state geologist from 1872 to 1901, the Winchell Trail is touted as Minneapolis’ “first rustic hiking trail.”

As you can see from the images I share this evening, last Sunday was a beautiful autumn day to be out in nature.

Accompanying my photos is an excerpt from a reflection on autumn by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr. Enjoy!

Autumn is a wondrous metaphor for the transformation that takes place in the human heart each season. When we notice a subtle change of light outside our windows, we know the dark season is near. Everything is being prepared for winter. Autumn calls us in from summer's playground and asks significant questions about our own harvest: What do we need to gather into our spiritual barns? What in our lives needs to fall away like autumn leaves so another life waiting in the wings can have its turn to live?

It is easy to read the human story in these autumn pages between summer and winter. This is the season that evokes nostalgia and pours longing into human hearts. Autumn speaks of connection and yearning, wisdom and aging, transformation and surrender, emerging shadows, and most of all, mystery. This is the season that touches our longing for home, for completion. We are invited to let go, to yield . . . yes, to die. We are encouraged to let things move in our lives. Let them flow on into some new life form just as the earth is modeling these changes for us.

The season of autumn will not stay with us forever. It will fall into the womb of winter. In this dark resting place another dimension of growth will reveal itself. Each season’s entrance and departure is part of the gracious turning of the circle of life. Autumn will return to the land and to our lives when it is time. The wheel keeps turning.

– Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr
Excerpted from their book, The Circle of Life:
The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons
Sorin Books, 2005
pp. 168-169

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• O Sacred Season of Autumn
• “Thou Hast Thy Music Too”
• A Prayer of Autumn Welcoming
• Autumn’s Wordless Message
• Autumn – Within and Beyond (2018)
• Autumn – Within and Beyond (2016)
• Autumn Psalm
• Autumn Beauty
• Autumn Leaves
• Autumn Hues
• Autumn by the Creek
• From the River to the Falls
• Autumn Dance
• An Autumn Walk by Minnehaha Creek
• Autumnal (and Rather Pagan) Thoughts on the Making of “All Things New”
• The Prayer Tree . . . Aflame!
• The Last of Autumn’s Hues
• “This Autumn Land Is Dreaming”

Image: Michael J. Bayly and Carol Masters.

On This Summer Solstice, A Proclamation of the Power of Fire

In celebration of the Summer Solstice today, I share an excerpt from the book, The Circle of Life: The Heart's Journey Through the Seasons by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr. In this particular excerpt, the power of fire, both physical and spiritual, is proclaimed and celebrated. Enjoy! . . . And Happy Summer Solstice!

_______________________

We proclaim that the lights of the cosmos unite all people on the planet in a great oneness. As the fiery stars, the intense sun, and the reflective moonlight shine on us, so they bathe each one who dwells on this beautiful sphere of life with a great illuminating energy.

We proclaim that there is an unquenchable fire shining within each person, a light that is strong, deep, and enduring. It is the vigilant fire in the hearth of the soul, maintaining hope and truth amid life's many ups and downs.

We proclaim that the fire of those who have gone before us has never left this earth. We are heartened by the truth that their sacred fire has become an eternal light that leads us on, a fire continually blessing us, encouraging us, affirming us to live our life to the fullest for our own benefit as well as for the good of all humankind.

We proclaim that the fire within cannot be contained. It seeks to move out, to permeate, to enter into every place that lacks passion and vitality. When the inmost self is opened with love, trust, and confidence, an energizing and healing light shines forth to fill the corners of the world.

We proclaim that there is a divine fire within us that is immeasurably loving, inconceivably caring, consistently non-judgmental, and enormously passionate. This light will never give up on us. It will cherish us into eternity.

We proclaim that the light within us is beautiful, precious, and wild. We urge everyone to do all they can to tend this fire, to care for it with courage and kindness. Let the inner light shine forth radiantly so all will benefit from the power of this immense warmth and goodness.

– Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr
Excerpted from The Circle of Life:
The Heart's Journey Through the Seasons
(Sorin Books, 2005)

Related Off-site Links:

Summer Solstice 2020: Sensual Traditions on the Longest Day of the Year – Daisy Carrington and Forrest Brown (CNN, June 19, 2020).
Rare ‘Ring of Fire’ Solar Eclipse Will Coincide With Summer Solstice 2020 – Laura Italiano (New York Post, June 19, 2020).
Summer Solstice 2020: How Midsummer Is Celebrated Around the World – Sophia Waterfield (Newsweek, June 20, 2020).
A Summer Blessing – The Leveret (June 21, 2019).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• The Light Within
• A Summer Solstice Reflection
• Photo of the Day – Adnan in Morning Light
• Celebrating the Summer Solstice
• In Summer Light
• Summer Blooms
• Summer Boy
• The Source Is Within You

Photography: Michael J. Bayly.

When Spring Returns . . .

. . . a festival of life abounds

This past Thursday (March 19) saw the spring equinox take place in that part of the world where I live. Also called the March equinox or vernal equinox, this event marks the astronomical first day of spring here in the northern hemisphere.

Given all that's going on in the world, especially in terms of the coronavirus pandemic, it seems all the more vital to be reminded of and celebrate the return of spring and all the hopeful things it signifies, both in nature and in our hearts.

For as my friend Andrea so beautifully writes: “When it seems as if nothing is the same, that everything is changing, as if there is no solid ground beneath you, take a deeper look. The birds are coming back to their summer homes, the lake ice is melting, the sun continues to rise and set in a predicable rhythm of grace. Regular life is still happening. Look beyond your (very normal) fear into the depths of your own heart. There you find stability. In that place, find peace. See grace. And out of THAT heart space of stability, peace and grace . . . live.”

And so in this spirit of invitation to live from the heart space of stability, peace and grace, I celebrate the return of spring today by sharing an excerpt from Joyce Rupp and Marcrina Wiederkehr's wonderful book, The Circle of Life: The Heart's Journey Through the Seasons. Accompanying this excerpt are images of dancer Calvin Royal III, photographed by Ken Browar and Deborah Ory. Enjoy!

When the season of spring returns to the land, a festival of life and light abounds. Suddenly, there are longer days of sunlight, earlier dawns, later sunsets. Earth sails along in her faithful rotation. With each cycle, she leans in closer to the light and heat of the life-giving sun. What once appeared dead begins to stir. Each wintered thing wakes up, raises its drowsy head, and stiffs the air to confirm the truth of spring's arrival. The slow pace of winter is left behind and there is a surge of invigorating activity for humans, creatures, and vegetation. . . . Vibrancy and fresh beginnings of growth are what dominate spring. These lively energies awaken and move through the heart of creation.

The human spirit also experiences seasons of springtime. The periods of depression and discouragement that visit our inner landscape do not last forever. Like walls of sunlight breaking through storm clouds, currents of hope flow through the dark walls of despondency. Blessings arise as new growth takes place.

. . . In the heart's springtime, the inner self awakens. Seeds of growth, hidden in the midst of winter's bleakness, germinate and sprout. That which has been longed for and greatly desired is gradually brought forth and heralded with gladness. Visions, dreams, and yearnings for the future unfold. The gray moods, the frozen love, the sorrow and grief, the overwhelming angst, the dread and depression, all this slowly slips away as trust and enthusiasm rejuvenate the wintered spirit. Like the springtime land, so the inner land is thawed and re-energized. A sense of loving and being loved warms the interior places that were cold and dormant in wintertime.

The emotional clutter and the old debris that prevented clear thinking are cleansed. Spaciousness and openness expand like the wings of a great swan. Inner freedom is discovered. Confidence returns. Creative endeavors begin to emerge. Like the songbirds chirping as they return from the south, the heart begins to sing again.

. . . In this season of the soul, there is awe and wonder at the changes taking place. Spring generates surprise, delight, unmitigated joy, and newly found optimism. Now is the time to enjoy what is emerging from within, to savor the taste of hope, and to trust in what the future promises. It is the time to believe in growth and to give oneself to it wholeheartedly.

– Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr
From The Circle of Life: The Heart's Journey Through the Seasons
Sorin Books, 2005
pp. 65-67

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• A Day Both Holy and Magical
• Following the Footprints of Spring
• O Dancer of Creation
• Spring: Truly the Season for Joy and Hope
• Welcoming the Return of Spring (2018)
• Spring's Snowy Start
• The Spring Blizzard of 2018
• Celebrating the Return of Spring (2017)
• A New Day
• Dreaming of Spring
• Waiting in Repose for Spring's Awakening Kiss
• Let the Greening Begin
• Green Destiny
• In the Footsteps of Spring

Images: Calvin Royal III, photographed by Ken Browar and Deborah Ory.