• About Me
  • Contact
  • What’s in a name?

dreamprayact

~ Reflections of a preacher, poet, and contemplative activist

dreamprayact

Tag Archives: Listening

Let the birds sing

24 Wednesday Mar 2021

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in grief, Reflections

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

courage, death, grace, grief, healing, holy, joy, Listening, morning light

Let the birds sing
in early morning light

Let breezes sweetly whisper
through the trees at midday

Let clouds drift lazily
across a buoyant spring sky

Let the sun’s brilliance
gild rugged hillsides nearby

And let it all remind me
that this day is holy

Let friends call
and listen tenderly to my pain

Let strangers offer
a kind word or gesture

Let hours pass
and leave no trace of regret

Let this day unfold
with a gentleness born of grace

And let it all remind me
that this day is holy

There is no denying
this world looks different to me now
my future blurred by uncertainty
love’s healing work barely begun
and the cruel finality of death
no longer merely an idea

But let the birds sing in the morning
let friends be present by my side
let moments of contentment quietly come
let memories wash over me like a balm
let joy one day follow these days of mourning
let healing imperceptibly take root and grow

And let it all remind me
if I have the courage to see it
that this day indeed is holy

~ Mark Lloyd Richardson

Let us not grow weary

10 Thursday Nov 2016

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Justice, Peace with justice, Prayers

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

better angels, faith as a mustard seed, God's promise, grace, hope, justice, Listening, newness, peace, prayer, reconciliation, welcome

flame

When our days feel precarious,
and our hearts are worn down
with the fatigue of worry,
the unsettledness of concern,
your promise, O God, remains with us.
Indeed it resides within us,
burning at the center of our beings,
a flame of hope that will not be extinguished.

You are always leading us into the new.
You are continually remaking us
into a people formed in your love.
You invite us each morning to yield our hearts
to the work of justice, peace, and reconciliation.
In all times, you call forth our better angels.

Give us, we pray, the grace we need for this day
as we rise to meet the challenges before us.
May we live today from our deepest humanity,
granting to a neighbor the gift of humble listening,
extending to a stranger a smile of recognition,
offering to the other a gesture of welcome,
being gentle with ourselves and those near to us.

The little things are the big things in your realm.
The least are not forgotten,
the last become first,
the lost are surely found.
So help us believe that even the mustard seed
of our small faith makes a difference.
Let us not grow weary in doing good.
Let us rise to meet this day knowing
that your promise remains with us and within us,
indeed it burns with a hope that will not go out.

In your holy love we pray. Amen.

(c) 2016 Mark Lloyd Richardson

Lessons in the Wind

02 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Big Sur, blue jays, Listening, New Camaldoli Hermitage, Pacific Ocean, Poetry, Retreats, Winds of change

From time to time I go on spiritual retreat to the New Camaldoli Hermitage (www.contemplation.com) in Big Sur, perched high above the Pacific Ocean.

It is an ideal setting to immerse oneself in nature’s beauty and in the silence of a contemplative community.

On a retreat there a couple of years ago, I wrote the following poem while watching and listening to the birds from my private garden space.

Blue JayLessons in the Wind

I listen
as the winds sing above treetops
and carry Jays
with their deep blue wings
up and further up
to this resting place between ocean and sky.

Listening to branches stirring and clashing
beyond my screen door
whipped about in sudden gusts
I am stunned
by the necessary calm of this room
baked as it is in generous afternoon light.

The earth is a swirling body of dust and ashes.
The earth is a still-point
amid winds of change.
What is called for is courage.
What is required is deep listening.
Without them we grow weary and afraid.
We are whipped about,
stirred by anger and clashes.

Listen to the wind I say.
It blows where it will.
It stirs life.
It lifts us on blue wings.
It sings.
Do you hear it?

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson

P. S. If you enjoy this post, please share it with others!

January 2023
S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Aug    

Recent Posts

  • New Recording 3
  • How Long?
  • Prayer to a Great Blue Heron
  • A Prayer for Our Country
  • Blessing for When You Don’t Know Where to Begin

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 558 other subscribers

Archives

  • August 2022
  • May 2022
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • March 2020
  • December 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • May 2019
  • February 2019
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • February 2018
  • October 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • May 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012

Categories

  • Centering Prayer
  • Contemplative Life
  • Dogs
  • grief
  • Guest Blogs
  • Justice
  • LGBTQ
  • pastoral integrity
  • Peace with justice
  • Poems
  • Prayers
  • Reflections
  • Running
  • Sermon portions
  • Uncategorized
  • Worship Liturgy

Blog Stats

  • 49,139 hits

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Sacred Pauses

aprilyamasaki.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • dreamprayact
    • Join 342 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • dreamprayact
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...