She said that she remembered what she had learned in the Institute’s Tai Chi classes. Sally in August.Īndrea, a physician, once told me that during a terrifying moment following an accident on the Seney Stretch, a lonely highway East of here in Northern Michigan, she lay upside down, trapped in her vehicle, strapped in her seat belt. Their lives were celebrated at memorial services in two of our community’s Episcopal churches. Two friends of the Cedar Tree Institute, Andrea Dlesk (1950-2017) and Sally Grace Collins (1930-2017) crossed over between worlds. Watercourse Way Retreat, New Mexico, 11/20/17 Soon, this cold, lonely cabin will be filled with warmth and light. Remember One who really loves you, We’ll live forever you and I He’s a member of our local Jewish synagogue, and a hospice medical director here in Upper Michigan. My traveling companion to Boston, Mike, a family physician, sang them with a smile a couple of days ago, as we strolled along the banks of the Charles River.
I was surprised, then pleasingly reassured, to hear it echoed in lyrics written by outlaw country singer Billy Joe Shaver. These are days calling for resistance, for truth speaking to power. Politically these are bizarre, dangerous times with safety nets for the poor and disabled collapsing, environmental standards eroding, and the horror of a nuclear war haunting us as never before. We will be able to live as “beloved.”īut for now, know this well. Should we dare to live that equation, Nouwen promises we will stay connected to the very heart of the world’s joy and pain, to be free, open to others, blessed in whatever we choose to do. A third is to make sure we surround ourselves with at least a few individuals who appreciate us for who we are, not for what we’ve achieved, or what we do to please or appease others. The second is establishing daily rituals of gratitude. The first is the ongoing work of unmasking false, seductive idolatries in modern culture that threaten to kidnap and shape our identities. He suggests three things to keep us in spiritual balance and true to course. A challenge all healthy religions seek to address. Nouwen maintains there’s a universal hunger in each of our hearts for belonging, meaning, and purpose, critical for our well-being. Thanks to my good friend and colleague Joseph, during recent weeks I’ve carried with me a copy of Henri Nouwen’s “Life of the Beloved,” a brief, concisely written reflection on the human condition. Nights spent with bells and candles in a woodframed church with Native people up along Washington State’s Skagit River, days helping lead a retreat at a Benedictine monastery north of Santa Fe, a presentation to a tribal council on the edge of Michigan’s Keweenaw Bay, a morning meeting at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, a few blocks east of Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital. I’ve been traveling on and off for three months. I’m kneeling, chilled, inside by a wood stove, with kindling and paper, ready to light a fire to create some heat on this blustery December afternoon.Ĭhores, like this one, always prove to be anchoring experiences for me. The forest floor is covered with snow and ice. A wind is blowing outside the cabin door.
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