Hummingbirds
If it ain't in you, it can't come out of
your horn. Charlie Parker (Jazz
Saxophonist)
We were trained to work exhausted. I was
good at it. But as a doctor, when I was with
a patient, I realized I wasn't really there.
I don't want to live like that.
Physician's comment to Terry
It is Sunday night.
I spent a week telling people (professionals, parish workers, teachers, Directors of Religious Education, pastors), in workshops in five different cities, to heed the wisdom of Charlie Parker.
After a long week, I realize I need to take my own medicine.
Sabbath Moment needs a Sabbath.
My plan this morning: skip a week.
So I sat on a patio near La Jolla beach drinking coffee. Doing nothing. Literally.
Well, drinking coffee and watching hummingbirds.
Only three feet away from my chair, an Agave plant with stalks sporting carmine red flowers, like pendulous tubes, made my patio into an exotic desert garden. Two hummingbirds indulge themselves, a theater acrobatic, flirtatious, and unabashed.
The birds drink hungrily from the blooms, yet seemingly without anxiety, or any hint of the self-consciousness that accompanies our yearning. One hummingbird sits still on the stalk beneath a flower, for almost a full minute, a sight I have never witnessed before, as if to let me know that their constant motion is a false impression and done for our benefit. I feel lucky. And I want to tell him "thank you," but somehow I think he is aware of my gratitude, and of the gift he has given me.
I watch the hummingbirds and realize that there is no moral price tag on their hunger or their longing. They seek sweetness and sustenance. They are singular in their focus and intention. And in that, they are at home. And at peace.
Clouds glide through the western sky. I close my eyes.
I rest.
A Summer Night
A summer night. The moon's face,
almost full now, comes and goes
through clouds. I can't see
any stars, but a late firefly
still flicks his green lamp on and off
by the fence.
In this light
that is more illusion
than light, I think of things
I can't make out: milkweed opening
its millions of flowerets, their heavy heads
smelling like dark honey in the night's
darkness; day lilies
crowding the ditch, their blossoms
closed tight; birds asleep with their small legs
locked on twigs; deer stealing
into the uncut hay; and the young bay mare
kneeling down in the pasture, composing herself
to rest, as rounded and strong
as a meant prayer.
Kate Barnes, from Kneeling Orion. © David R Godine
From last week:
God,
We pray for another way of being - another way of knowing.
across the difficult terrain of our existence we have attempted to build a highway and in so doing have lost our footpath.
god lead us to our footpath; lead us there where in simplicity we may move at the speed of natural creatures and feel the earth's love beneath our feet.
lead us there where step by step we may feel the movement of creation in our hearts.
and lead us there where side by side we may feel the embrace of the common soul.
nothing can be loved at speed.
god lead us to the slow path; to the joyous
insights of the pilgrim; another way of knowing - another way of being.
amen.
michael leunig
Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front
Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion - put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.
Wendell Berry
Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" from The Country of Marriage, copyright © 1973
New pictures of Terry's garden
TerrysGarden
Hand feeding a hummingbird
youtube.com/hummingbird
David Attenborough looks at the world of hummingbirds in this BBC special.
www.youtube.com/BBC
Let it Be, version from Across the Universe
youtube.com/let it be
Look for Terry's new book,
The Power
of Pause:
becoming more by doing less,
available
soon.
loyolapress.terryhershey
Sabbath
Moments:
To See God In All Things
Born
To Dance:
Live life fully from the inside out
Join
Terry at
the
THE RELAX, REFUEL,
RESTART RETREAT.
www.loyolapress.com/relax
The Relax, Refuel, Restart Retreat is a great
way for parish / church leaders, for your
leadership team, for key lay-leaders, for
anyone in
parish / church ministry to rest,
re-energize, and
take steps to find balance in their busy
lives. Find the city in your area and
bring your entire parish / church
leadership team!
Call
773-281-1818 x
287
Register
Southern
California
San Diego
Tuesday, August 11, 2009: St. Francis of
Assisi Church, Vista
Wednesday, August 12, 2009: St. John the
Evangelist Parish, San Diego
Greater Seattle Area
Monday, September 21, 2009: Blessed Sacrament
Parish, Seattle, WA
Tuesday, September 22, 2009: St. Madeleine
Sophie Parish, Bellevue, WA
Wednesday, September 23, 2009: St. Nicholas
Parish, Gig Harbor, WA
Thursday, September 24, 2009: St. Stephen the
Martyr Parish, Renton, WA
Register
October 4-5, 2009
Columbus, Ohio
Put on your Dancing Shoes
www.fcchurch
November 6 - 8, 2009
Retreat with Terry
Franciscan Renewal Center
Scottsdale, AZ
Becoming More by Doing Less
franciscanrenewalcenter
Share Our Site:
Look for this Share Box at the bottom of any
web page to email to a friend or to share on
Facebook or any social bookmarking site.
