A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey. From The Wisdom Years.

I will not allow my life’s light to be determined by the darkness around me.
Sojourner Truth, The Book of Life
From Well for the Journey

A Lesson in Aging
“I always thought of myself as young,” says Fr. Ron Rolheiser, “even as the years piled up and my body began to betray my conception of myself as young.” Our souls, however, don’t age says Rolheiser – they mature. And in these later years, the soul wants to delve ever deeper into “the mystery of life, of community, of God, and of itself.”
From Kolbe Times.

A Second Gaze
Growing older gives us the opportunity for a second look at a situation. It is then that God offers us the grace to weep over our sins more than to perfectly overcome them, to humbly recognize our littleness rather than to become big.
From the Center for Action and Contemplation.

A Flower’s Job Is To Bloom
Who makes us feel important? Do we seek acclaim from a particular group? If we do, says writer Srikumar Rao, we are putting ourselves into a prison and handing that person or group the key.
From Awakin.

To Care
To care for the aging,” says Henri Nouwen in this meditation, “means first of all to enter into close contact with your own aging self, to sense your own time, and to experience the movements of your own life cycle.”
From the Henri Nouwen Society.

Pilgrims Journeying Within
What if we embraced the unknown as sacred wisdom for the unfolding of our lives? What if we welcomed all that distresses and disorients us as having something to teach us? Chapter 7 of The Soul of a Pilgrim is The Practice of Embracing the Unknown.
Find reflection prompts and a weekly practice for The Soul of a Pilgrim study here.
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