Journal of Sacred Work

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."

~Martin Buber

   On this New Year's Day, I like you, am reflecting on the mystery of the days ahead.   I am thinking about what  to take with me on the journey. I want to travel light and bring only the bare essentials. I will leave behind my insecure need for approval. I leave behind my sense of unworthiness, my need to project of image of perfection, of trying to convince the world of my worthiness.  I will leave behind my need for control.

“When the inner senses are dull and blurred, you can see nothing in or of yourself; you become a respectable prisoner of received images. Now you realise that ‘eternal vigilance is the price of liberty’ and you undertake the difficult but beautiful path to freedom.” ~John O’Donohue

Loving intention: Upon  awakening, I will breathe in blessings and give of gratitude. I will greet the quiet morning with reverence and listen; being still I awaken in God’s mind. I will be open to all that is, recognizing that God (or Love’s presence) is in everything. I can no longer live a life of duality in terms of "either or" polarization. For surely now, if I hold fast to “my way is the only right way” we shall never meet on common ground. Love shows us the beauty and the way to "both and."  Therefore, I will not judge or reject parts of myself, or others, as good or evil. Rather, I will accept with deep compassion the light and shadow which forms the unity of the whole and that which is Holy.

With visible breath I am walking.
A voice I am sending as I walk.
In a sacred manner I am walking.
With visible tracks I am walking.
In a sacred manner I walk.

~Song of the White Bison Woman who brought the sacred pipe to men.

 Relationship: I will take bread and wine from my satchel to share in communion with others. As we eat and drink, may the veil that separates us fall to reveal the light of Love’s forgiveness. May we experience our interconnectedness with all of life, understanding we are inseparable from Love's creative force. Living in a universe that is over 13 billions years old, our DNA is similar to all other forms of life. Just imagine; we are stardust! May we go forth to honor, nourish and lovingly care for one another and dear Mother Earth.  

“And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being.”             ~ Black Elk

 Participation: Now that we have seen, we are compelled to actively engage in this great circle of life.  I heard it said that Mother Teresa told her Sisters of Charity that it was not their job to preach to anyone or ever try to convert others to their religion. Their job was to BE Christ in our world. May we trust the natural rhythms of our universe as we move beyond the confines of self to be of service in our hurting world.

 “Once you start to awaken, no one can ever claim you again for the old patterns. Now you realise how precious your time here is." ~John O’Donohue

 Potential: All life stretches towards light with a desire for fulfillment. Life is continually evolving, and we are becoming. Amidst the heartaches and loss that accompanies living, Love overflows with the promise of a new beginning. For just as the earth turns, so do we in the great mystery of life's unfolding. May our most reverent yearnings keep us turning towards the light of our potential for the  benefit of  all humankind.

 “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.” ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

~liz Sorensen Wessel

Note: My mandala pencil drawing above is a representation of  a ring galaxy called Hoag's Object that was discovered in 1950. Serendipitously, from the perspective of our solar system there appears a distant ring galaxy plainly visible within the gap between this galaxy's central body of mostly yellow stars and an outer ring of blue stars. http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/galaxy/spiral/pr2002021a/