When life is really hard, when we hold a lot of tension from the world in our minds and hearts, the weight of those tensions can literally get stuck in our bodies. Our shoulders get tight. We clench our jaws. We get headaches. Even our joints can hurt when our hearts are hurting. On the one hand, we do not want to abandon the sacred work of holding tensions. It is good to keep our hearts and minds open, supple, and tender so that we do not become closed and narrow and rigid. On the other hand, we don’t need to keep all the weight of the tensions we hold locked up in our bodies. Prayer can help us to let the burdensome weight get freed up.
Prayer in the Cold
Heat excites and moves molecules. Cold calms and slows molecules. Prayer in the cold points to stillness, perhaps frigid, perhaps not.
Topics:
Contemplative Practice
Prayer in Winter
Before winter, the leaves fall. Trees simplify their lives. In prayer, I offer attention to fewer words.
Topics:
Contemplative Practice
