“Bring peace within, keep anxiety afar”

A Labor of Loves

This week’s round-up of links is a day late (and a dollar short, ha) and exactly no one cares. Isn’t that the beauty of being gentle with each other and the slow work of creation?

Quick update: I’ve decided these mid-week emails of others’ holy labor need a new name—something to distinguish them from the weekly essays I write. So I’m calling this collection A Labor of Loves and my own offerings A Labor of Words. Maybe one of you artsy folks will be inspired to design me a logo for each? Either way, enjoy this week’s labor of loves.

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I’ve talked up this book to everyone I know, so let’s do it here. The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth by Elizabeth Rush is a haunting read about a scientific expedition to Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, but also about the effects of increasing climate change and the question of parenthood in the midst of global crisis.

Last week during an endless wait to see a doctor, I decided to memorize a favorite Mary Oliver poem, “Thirst.” This turned into a perfect waiting room practice. I also cannot get through the whole poem without a lump in my throat, which is the point. 

Took this photo from another waiting room because I was enthralled by the play of light on clouds. Whatever keeps us human in sterile places is essential.

This podcast episode was a fascinating conversation between Kelly Corrigan & Rachel Zoffness on reframing our understanding of pain: how pain is a bio-psycho-social reality but we only treat it as a biological one (so we default to medicating). You can watch on PBS, too.  

Grateful to America Magazine for publishing my essay that many of you originally enjoyed here: What I say when people ask: How many children do you have? I’ve been touched by readers’ stories of their own impossible answers to complicated questions. 

I had never heard of Celtic caim prayers (meaning protection or sanctuary) until I saw the beautiful art and accompanying prayers shared by Kreg Yingst at Psalm Prayers on Instagram and Facebook. Here’s one encircling prayer to leave with you:

Circle of Love, open my heart,
Circle of Wisdom, enlighten my mind.
Circle of Trust, protect my path.
This day, bring peace within, keep anxiety afar,
Bring health within, keep sickness afar,
Bring joy within, keep sorrow afar,
Bring hope within, keep despair afar…
Bless and encircle me
With your presence in this place
And every place.
Amen.

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