Dear Friends,

I am writing to you from Africa where I have been for these past 3 weeks. It has been deeply felt and magnanimously rewarding.

Once again, the cross-cultural experience supports my conviction that the spiritual life encourages risk, a willingness to explore, to go beyond what is comfortable, and always to be less afraid. Many years ago, I heard Henri Nouwen describe Western spirituality as suffocated and disembodied. Is that true? The answer of course lies in the heart of each person.

But his statement draws me to the wonderful words of poet, Dawna Markova:

I will not die an unlived life
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.

She goes on to interpret the meaning of her poem:

“Traveling from the known to the unknown requires crossing an abyss of emptiness. We first experience disorientation and confusion. Then if we are willing to cross the abyss in curious and playful wonder, we enter an expansive and untamed country that has its own rhythm. Time melts and thoughts become stories, music, poems, images, ideas. This is the intelligence of the heart, but by that I don't mean just the seat of our emotions. I mean a vast range of receptive and connective abilities, intuition, innovation, wisdom, creativity, sensitivity, the aesthetic, qualitative and meaning making. It is here that we uncover our purpose and passion.”

I believe more than ever that Markova’s words lie close to God’s intention for each one of us. How is God calling you? What are you ready to do that is completely different from your past choices and patterns? Are you actively dismantling the fears that have limited your joy?

I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Carter