Here we are
together
each facing our different human tasks
or maybe the same central one:
to embrace the lessons life delivers
to discern and respond as we grow
to refuse harm and cherish flourishing
May we know ourselves
as vessels of infinite possibility
Holders of each other’s heartaches and tales of joy alike
weavers of one story
in which we each have our part
-Leah Ongiri
What story are you weaving today?
“My struggle to find a solid identity is also true for other parts of me—as an artist, a pagan, and a person—as if everything that’s led me here are only interruptions and obstacles, instead of part of what makes me the more whole person I am today. The shift, for me, occurred by telling my story instead of trying to pretend like it never happened.” -Erica Shadowsong, from a reflection entitled Healing Through Story
How might you develop a sense of your wholeness through story?
Earlier this month, we featured a reflection by CLF’s Rose Gallogly about writing her own Winter Solstice Story. Rose has kindly shared the story with all of us–it is linked below.
Each time a new being was introduced to the world, the Moon whispered to them: “Remember always that this world works in cycles. There are times of great light and activity, and there are times of darkness and rest. This is the great rhythm of the world, and all beings must follow this pattern in their own way.” – from “Turn the Year Around” (A Solstice Story) by Rose Gallogly (CLF)
How do you live in concert with the rhythms of the planet?
In this Advent season, the nativity story is depicted in tableaus around the world: in town squares, church yards, and even in the front lawns of homes. The story of the birth of the baby Jesus, a central figure in the Christian faith, is also the story of a brown-skinned, Middle Eastern, Jewish refugee born in untenable conditions when powerful people would prefer to see him not survive. -Lori Stone (CLF)
How might this change our perspective on the events unfolding in Gaza today?
The Quran, the holy Scripture of Islam, contains a telling of the birth of Jesus (Issa) that is different from those stories in the Christian Scriptures in interesting ways. In the Quran, Mary is alone, under a date palm, and the story includes the pain of her childbirth; the infant Jesus is endowed with speech at birth and helps his mother find water and dates.
When have you heard the same story told in a different way? How did it change the way you approached the story?
