Courage Is Fear Walking …

We want life to be as dazzling and painless as possible. Life, on the other hand, has a way of humbling us, and heartbreak is built into its agreement with the world. We’re young, until we’re not. We’re healthy, until we’re not. We’re with those we love, until we’re not. Life’s beauty is inseparable from its fragility. One of the greatest human triumphs is to choose to make room in our hearts for both the joy and the pain, and to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. This means seeing feelings not as being “good” or “bad” but as just “being.” Yes, there is this relentless assumption in our culture that we need to do something when we have inner turmoil. We must struggle with it, fix it, control it, exert brute-force willpower over it, remain positive. What we really need to do, though, is also what is most simple and obvious: nothing. That is, to just welcome these inner experiences, breathe into them, and learn their contours without racing for the exits.

In Memoriam: Mary Oliver …

Mary Oliver (1935-2019) was an American poet who won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Her poetry often explored nature and the spiritual world. She died on Thursday, January 17, 2019 at her home in Florida.

We celebrate her life with deep gratitude for the remarkable human being she was and how she used words to witness, awaken and heal the world. A bight light is gone from our sky but her poetry and wisdom remain as a gift to humanity for generations to come. Rest in beauty and peace …

ILLUMINATED 2018 …

In gratitude for all the blessing prayers that I frequently post on In Silence Waits, I am sharing information about an advent retreat that Jan Richardson is offering from December 1, 2018 to December 28, 2018.

Retreat Details

ILLUMINATED 2018 is an elegantly simple online journey toward Christmas that you can enter into from anywhere you are, in the way that works best for you.

This online retreat is not about adding one more thing to your holiday schedule. It is about helping you find spaces for reflection that draw you deep into this season that shimmers with mystery and possibility.

Building a Bridge (Book Recommendation) …

Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity

The New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage turns his attention to the relationship between LGBT Catholics and the Church in this loving, inclusive, and revolutionary book.

Best Books of 2016 …

The Abundance: Narrative Essays Old and New by Annie Dillard

In recognition of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s long and lauded career as a master essayist, a landmark collection, including her most beloved pieces and some rarely seen work, rigorously curated by the author herself.

Stars at Night: When Darkness Unfolds as Light (New Release) …

Stars at Night: When Darkness Unfolds as Light by Paula D’Arcy

An apprenticeship with the night is an inheritance I would wish for everyone.” Paula D’Arcy was only 27 when a drunk driver killed her husband and young daughter. But in the midst of her crushing despair, and to her complete amazement, she discovered a presence within her that responded to her fearful cries for help. Her anguished heart was met by a great tenderness and wisdom, which she grew to recognize as a transcendent love. Over time—knowing that pain was not the final say and did not have absolute power—she was able to find her way back to the light.

The Endless Practice: Becoming Who You Were Born to Be (Book Recommendation)

Kindle ebook is $3.99 on Amazon.com for a limited time.

The Endless Practice(Kindle Edition) by Mark Nepo

Poet, philosopher, and cancer survivor Mark Nepo has been breaking a path of spiritual inquiry for more than forty years. In his latest book, the #1 New York Times bestselling author “writes reflectively and poetically about the lifelong spiritual journey” (Publishers Weekly).