One of the benefits of having somewhat more time and somewhat less tasks has been to explore my paleomammalian cortex …. that’s how engineering types talk about the emotional centres of the brain.
For me, this means looking at pictures and entering into the scene. It means moving away from meditative prayer and into contemplative prayer. And it means reading poetry.
One of my favourite books is called To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings by John O’Donohue. So, for this Sunday’s pandemering, rather than break open the scripture and tease out its lessons, perhaps you and I can exercise our paleomammalian cortices instead. Here is one of his poems, called “for equilibrium, a blessing”. May it bring a sense of peace to your spirit, as it does to mine ……..
Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.
As the wind loves to call things to dance,
May your gravity by lightened by grace.
Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,
May your thoughts incline with reverence and respect.
As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.
As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,
May your sense of irony bring perspective.
As time remains free of all that it frames,
May your mind stay clear of all it names.
May your prayer of listening deepen enough
to hear in the depths the laughter of God.”