Love Arising

Recently I was gifted with a lovely painting done by Sister Dorothy Ann Howley.  I was struck by the way in which it spoke to me and I offer this reflection/poem for your own personal use, if it is helpful.

Circling, ever circling,

The energy created.

Circling, ever circling

it sends us forth to be

the source of Love for all

to be to see.

We are that heart that beats

We are that drum that pounds

So on we must go

To where we n'ere have been

All is steady,

All is ready

for life unfolding

for Love unfolding

-Sister Kathleen Lichti, csj

Love Arising
My heart beats,

The drum pounds.

My heart pounds,

The drum beats


All is steady,

All is ready

for life unfolding

for eyes beholding


Feather-like she rises,

Gracefully so easily.

Heart ablaze with Love

with Love do we arise



Summer’s Permission Slip

Now that I’m retired and no longer living by the seasonal rhythm of an educator, I’m discovering the need to be more intentional about my approach to summer living.

Regina Brett, who became a global sensation with her vital newspaper column “50 Life Lessons,” wisely said:

“Summer is the annual permission slip to be lazy.

To do nothing and have it count for something.”

Several summer pastimes spring to mind, activities that might be seen as “doing nothing,” yet they offer quiet meaning. May I suggest you take a well-earned permission slip and enjoy one of these gentle pursuits or other compatible ones.

  • Sitting on a Bench: Observing, your outer or inner surroundings, without a device, without a book. Just savouring presence.

  • Floating: Being buoyed by water, your body and thoughts are both carefree.

  • People-Watching: Noticing others quietly, sipping something cool, engaging in a gentle study of human nature.

  • Walking Without a Destination: Wandering without a route, seemingly aimless, but truly a walking meditation.

This summer, I’m letting the season be a permission slip to slow down and simply be. Wherever you are, however, you choose, may this summer give you permission to simply be.

-Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ

Images: Luke Dean-Weymark/Chris Galbraith/Unsplash

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
— Henry James