A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey. From The Wisdom Years.
To be available to the mystery means that you are open, expectant, waiting — continually poised on tiptoe, prepared to be illumined — not locked in your own expectations of how you think it should happen.
-Daphne Rose Kingma, The Book of Love
Found in Well for the Journey.
Epiphany: The Lighted Path
Fr. Ron Rolheiser looks at the difference between King Herod’s reaction at the news of the birth of Jesus and that of the Wise Men in the biblical story. One seeks to kill the new king, the others bring gifts. How do you react when your star is being eclipsed? This article and more are part of the Wisdom Years Epiphany study now on the Wisdom Years website. (Art by Helen Taylor.)
Find the material for the entire study here.
From The Wisdom Years.
An Awe Walk
Dacher Keltner describes awe as “the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world” – a magnificent sunset, a tiny baby’s finger. But participants in recent research reported finding awe in ordinary places. Keltner suggests taking an “awe walk.”
From Awakin.
Epiphany Wisdom from the Wise Men
Joanna Seibert tells the story from Tolstoy about the three old hermits who turned out to be wiser than the bishop. She recalls that in the many times when she has tried to share her wisdom in retreats and classes, she most often learns from those who have been down-and-out.
From Joanna Seibert.
Healing from grace
Terry Hershey recalls a story of how a poem brought healing to a group of young Kenyan women who were escaping from the horror of genital mutilation. Words of a poem have the power “to open doors, rather than shut them. To invite vulnerability, rather than disconnect us from our heart. To create space to give, rather than put up rigid boundaries that divide us from one another.”
The Dance of Hope
“The roots of fear run deep,” says Steven Charleston in his book about the survival of Native Americans. In today’s world, “the hope we embrace must run just as deep. No matter what happens we must keep dancing, hand in hand, joined in a circle of equality, constantly moving in the slow rotation of justice and prayer.”
Found in Center for Action and Contemplation Daily Meditations.
Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.
If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.
To learn more visit our website.
The Wisdom Years 
Marjorie, I enjoyed these articles. The Awe Walk offers a wonderful invitation.
Blessings, Karen
LikeLike
Glad you enjoyed the material. The Awe Walk is something we should all do on a regular basis.
LikeLike