sacrament – Janis Dehler

Paddling through cloud reflections, trees mirrored on the lake, I listen as water laps against my paddle, voices arise from camp, as all awake. Watching grasses floating below, a kayaker making her way along the shore, I observe the trees along the lakeside, captured in stillness as I explore. Closing my eyes as a water skier casts waves, rocking my vessel, soothing my soul, I feel calm in this cradle of peace, realm of sky and water, now to console. Smiling, two loons arrive, dunking heads, ruffling feathers, diving, resurfacing, near to my craft. I reflect on ease and grace as they move, as if they dance in abandon to make me laugh. Offering thanks for trust in my presence of beauty manifest, I rest in community; one they so freely adorn. I receive communion in my attendance of the sacred, in this moment, this sacrament, on this—a Sunday morn.

The dinner was black tie,
our own interpretation,
with imagination,
exceptional, she said. 

John arrived with a work glove
tucked in his shirt,
Peter a paper top hat,
a bow tie and vest.

Couples in youth, bending
toward then, celebrate 
now; love, romance, 
friendship – sacrament – we said.

A crown roast centered the table
with little white hats for the bones. 
We blessed our meal, toasted our hosts,
and dined with heart to our fill.

Post dinner entertainment
brought the women to sing.
The men went out to the porch 
to work up their routine.

What I remember after,
was laughter,
a flash, and
the glow of four moons.

©Janis Dehler

“A smile starts on the lips, a grin spreads to the eyes, a chuckle comes from the belly; but a good laugh bursts forth from the soul, overflows, and bubbles all around.”
Carolyn Birmingham

“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.“
Khalil Gibran

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.“
Anais Nin

May the love and laughter that is in our hearts today overflow from within us and spread throughout the world like a wildfire, blessing all in its path. May we each know even a moment of loving kindness.

Ongoing Resouce List

The Gene Keys: Emracing Your Higher Purpose by Riuchard Rudd
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Inform Us by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
Energy Speaks: Messages from Spirit on Living, Loving, and Awakening by Lee Harris
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create an New One by Dr. Joe Dispenza
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe by Brian Thomas Swimme
The Mastery of Love, Don Miguel Ruiz
Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao, by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, by Mirabai Starr
The Four Agreements: A Toltec Book of Wisdom by Don Miguel Ruiz
Mindfulness and Grief by Heather Stang
How We Live Is How We Die by Pema Chödron
The Bhagavad Gita, Translated by Eknath Easwaran
St Francis of Assisi: Brother of Creation by Mirabai Starr
Wild Wisdom Edited by Neil Douglas-Klotz
Earth Prayers From Around The World, Ed by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon
The Tao of Relationships by Ray Grigg
Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O’Donohue
Unconditional Love and Forgiveness by Edith R. Stauffer, Ph.D.
Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance by Joseph M. Marshall III
Art & Fear by David Bayless & Ted Orland
Quantum-Touch by Richard Gordon
The Van Gogh Blues: The Creative Persons Path Through Depression by Eric Maisel, PhD
The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit
Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris
Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living by Janis Amatuzio
Personal Power Through Awareness by Sanaya Roman
Violence & Compassion by His Holiness the Dahlai Lama
Teachings on Love by Thich Nhat Hanh
Devotions by Mary Oliver
To Bless the Space Between Us by John O’Donohue
Meditations From the Mat by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison
The House of Belonging: poems by David Whyte
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness, by Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit
Soul an Archaeology Edited by Phil Cousineau
A Path With Heart by Jack Kornfield
Listening Point by Sigurd Olson
I Sit Listening to the Wind by Judith Duerk
Dancing Moons by Nancy Wood
The Soul of Rumi, Translations by Coleman Barks
Keep Going by Joseph M. Marshall III
Arriving at your own Door by Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
The Hidden Secrets of Water by Paolo Consigli
Conquest of Mind by Eknath Easwaran
Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay
Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) by Brene Brown
Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chodron
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron
On Death and Dying by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Unattended Sorrow by Stephen Levine
Joy in Loving, Mother Theresa
The Joy of Living by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
Let Your LIfe Speak by Parker Palmer
Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Essence of the Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran
Welcoming the Unwelcome by Pema Chodron
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through The Ways Of Animals by Jamie Sams and David Carson

Tag: sacrament

Morning’s Grace

A Dinner Party for Eight