Some Faithful Thing

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

On a quiet afternoon
when other sounds hush
and even the birds seem to be napping,
I sit and listen to the calm tick
of the dining room clock,
and I realize that I need
some faithful thing
to assure me,
to gentle me,
to strengthen me,
something like this steady click
that goes on measuring time
whether I hear it or not.
It’s a faithful thing
like winter turning to spring,
like the sunrise in the eastern sky,
like the moon waxing and waning.
In life’s uncertainty,
the scramble of tasks,
the unknown and unknowable,
I need this pause,
this listening,
this sensing and settling.
I need to know
that the moon has been crossing the heavens
since long before I was born
and will be crossing the heavens still,
long after I’m gone.
And while the clock in the dining room
may go silent some day,
for now, it too
is a faithful thing
evenly measuring time,
and I need some faithful thing—
sun, moon, wind, rain, trees,
even this clock—
I need some faithful thing
to be my gladness,
my contentment.
In the midst of all that’s temporary,
I need some faithful thing
to remind me of
eternity.
-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

The Sacrament of Waking

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

In the drift of easing from night dreams

into the gift of a new dawn,

there exists a pause,

a delicious time,

a handful of moments,

the day reborn in peace.

This handful of half-waking minutes

is a carrier,

a courier,

an envoy of the sacred—

a sacrament.

In the fraying fog of waking,

I feel my fragile frame,

my trusting weight generously held,

graciously cradled,

between blanket and bed,

between heaven and earth.

This moment is a silver bowl

holding silent prayers

measured in heartbeats,

whispered in slow, easy breaths.

In a handful of half-awake minutes,

time touches eternity.

– kh –

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Silenced by the Sea in the Wind

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

On a windy day,

if I close my eyes and open my ears,

I live beside the sea,

though this sea is only waves of wind

surging and ebbing,

a rolling surf of air

swishing through pine needles,

washing over elm leaves,

splashing the fronds of bamboo.

It’s the nature of Nature

to echo herself,

the sea in the wind and the wind in the sea.

Or a bird that chirps like a yipping dog

(or perhaps it’s the dog who yips like the bird).

A leaf that echoes the shape of wings,

wings that echo the shape of feathers,

feathers that echo the shape of feelers

on a fancy, flamboyant moth.

Leaves that echo the scent of lemon

or pepper

or cat pee.

But it’s the sea in the sound of the wind

that silences me,

sparks my dreams,

carries me to distant shores,

to time outside of time.

I suspect that this present moment

is itself an echo

of eternity.

– kh –

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Holding Infinity

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

In honor of Mother’s Day, I’m posting one of my favorites:

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour.”

– William Blake –

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who mother us so beautifully.

Nature of the week – rhododendron:

Shadow of the Week – there’s a heart in this leaf shadow:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Carry the Calm

Karyn Henley

eternity

Some Faithful Thing

The Sacrament of Waking

Silenced by the Sea in the Wind

Holding Infinity