Reflections on Luke

Year C is devoted to reading the Gospel of Luke, who wrote significantly about care for people who were seen as insignificant in society. Specifically, he wrote about care of women, children, the poor, and the marginalized. Luke wrote of “the great reversal” in which God brings down the mighty and exalts the humble (2:52). This is often heralded with heck yes, more of this  amongst activists, and that’s legitimate, but I also try to look and see where and how I am working in conjunction with the spirit of inclusion and equality. How can I embrace and embody the Samaritan? (The tale of the Good Samaritan can be a little uncomfortable for the establishment because “good” people pass by in succession before the Samaritan gives aid. Those that pass without being helpful are religious and righteous, but they do not act to address the suffering directly in their path, and this is a warning Luke is bringing as well as a lesson.)

This year, it seems the ideas of inequality, marginalization, and social justice are looming large in headlines, not as a call to action, exactly, but in the chaos that is happening as those in power act unilaterally and individually. Communities are having a difficult time knowing what to do, or how to respond.

I think it would be interesting to read a Gospel according to each of us, today. One of the hallmarks of Luke is that the message of the gospel is universal.  “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.” (24:47). As we listen to the saber rattling, and hear the rending of the social fabric, Luke tells us that the message of Jesus and the Spirit of Galilee is with us now, right here. If I wrote a gospel, I suppose it would focus on investigating my efforts to live in the Spirit: how am I working to forgive others, to create a community of love?

My philosophical writings center on the idea of a beloved community. I believe this is important work, secularly as well as spiritually, and that it is the work directly at hand. Yes, I want to run away to a cabin up the mountain and retreat from the chaos and conflict, letting the world spin on its merry axis of doom and destruction. There’s even a group of Forest Monks who would love to have me. But that is not the work the Universe has in mind for me, at least not yet.

Luke writes of the Acts infused by the Spirit. Significantly, he writes that when Jesus was in the wilderness, it was the Spirit that led him, and brought him back to the world. In Acts, Luke tells us again that each of us is an essential piece of how a divine plan of universal love is achieved.  

Luke is remembered for his gospel writings, but it’s less commonly cited that before he was an apostle he was a doctor. Luke, the stand-out firebrand, brings a message of healing, hope, and wholeness through acting in accordance with our values. We are, according to Luke, the heroes we have been waiting for, and we achieve this in small, everyday ways, every day.

Thank you I love you

Thank you.

I love you.

I was wrong.

I’m sorry.

Please help me.

Some years ago (I forget how many), I read somewhere (I forget where) that being able to say these five sentences was the key to living a happy life in connection with others (or something like that). 

Thank you.

I love you.

I was wrong.

I’m sorry.

These four come easily to me. But then there’s that fifth one, the one involving help, the one that always comes out “How can I help?” 

I often forget that the words “help me” exist.

When I’m upset or struggling, I have to remind myself that the phrase is there, that those words exist in that particular combination, and that they do, in fact, have meaning.

Only then can I begin the difficult and fiddly work to find the courage to say the words, and to choose to whom to say them. Courage, fortitude, compassion, and trust all must be marshaled in equal measure, with  a double-sized portion of faith woven into the mix before I find the voice to say “Please help me.”

And afterward, I always feel better, even if there is no immediate help or relief for whatever is troubling me. Afterward, I find myself saying Thank you for listening; I love you. 

Thank you.

I love you.

It’s all about balance

The Month of Willow

The Raven's Message

Back in late March 2015, I drove to work one morning, as I had for the last several weeks, working yet another contract and hoping my life would settle down and smoothen out, the prayer of my soul for the last several years, possibly my deepest wish since birth.

I parked in the same spot I always did, gathered my purse and lunchbag, and opened the car door. There on the payment stood a raven, completely blocking my path to get out of the car. It eyed me pointedly, its head at angle, as though questioning my intent. "Are you sure?" he seemed to ask.

I got out, stepping around him, expecting him to fly away as I got into his space, but he only hopped back a step, still watching me. I took a couple steps and was stopped cold by his cry, impossibly loud. It felt as though it had come from within me, as though it were everywhere in the air, as though I were listening to headphones with the volume up to concussion levels. I turned back and looked. He was still there, his head jutting forward, "I said what I said." That's weird, I thought. He jumped towards me, three little hops and then sang out again, caw caw caw, his head jabbing with each raw bark. I walked away. He followed, another three hops, another pointed three cries that raked down my bare arms in the cool spring morning. I was unsettled. Did he need help? Would he, like the ravens in the movie of the same name, attack me? I turned walked again, closing the distance to the building, my hand reaching out to swipe the security panel with the card that dangled from my lunch bag. His hops brought him within inches of my shoe. Caw! Caw! Caw! the urgency of a fire alarm. He regarded me as I swiped in, watched the light on the door turn from amber to green, and flew away.

==

Raven magic is a powerful medicine that can give you the courage to enter the darkness of the void, which is the home of all that is not yet in form. The void is called the Great Mystery. Great Mystery existed before all other things came into being. Great Spirit lives inside the void and emerged from the Great Mystery. Raven is the messenger of the void.

===

What it's like to be a Druid

It's not all sweetness and light.

Best Thanksgiving Ever

From a random chat

you know those ginormous pots of mums that are at the grocery store for super-cheap starting around halloween and hanging on until thanksgiving?

One Thanksgiving Day, I was b o r e d and wasn't on a plane to somewhere NotHere.

So I took an orange sheet (orange was all the rage then) and bought a bunch of mums. Cut the flowers off and put them in a basket (baskets, too were all the rage--people had actual basket parties! it was a weird time in America). I wrapped myself in the sheet, took the basket, and walked into the airport as though i belonged there, handed out flowers to the pilots and stewardesses (you could still call them that back then) and said "thank you for working today so families can be together."

best thanksgiving i ever had

might do it again this year.

Beltane: Bloom

 

Beltane May 1 - June 11: Bloom Where You’re Planted

Yoga, meditation, anti-inflammatory foods, gardening, composting (with worms!!), love.

Welcome to a truly Druidic Challenge.

Grounded. Like an errant teenager or an injured pilot, like the third prong on the electrical plug, this challenge I am grounded, or looking to get that way. Me, being me, I’m taking this as literally as I take everything else, and I’m looking to dirt and roots to help me out. Even my yoga sessions are on the ground, and meditation is definitely that way.

Nourish Flower and urban farm shares (including eggs!) start this week. Nearby farm vegetable delivery starts May 17. I need to make sure I have the fridge and tools prepared and waiting. Eating farm-to-table is a mindset more than an activity, and having the right structure in place makes all the difference.

Weekly vegetable delivery means weekly cooking. Last year was a wash with me having no motivation or energy. Truly, it was a sad year on the cooking front. Looking forward to this year in the kitchen.

Vermicomposting, the nerdiest druid thing to happen in the dirt. I’m super excited about this. I’ve wanted to do indoor vermicomposting for years, and am finally making this happen. I have the composter ready to be assembled, and lots of thoughts about worms. The composter isn’t large, but every square inch matters in this small apartment, so I’ll need to figure out where it will live and how collecting vegetable scraps and tea leaves will fit into the workflow.

Plants! Vivian wants to plant roses and lavender in containers on the rooftop terrace, and I want to have fresh herbs again, especially rosemary and basil, and possibly sunflowers.  Look for green thumb reports. :) 

Bask I’m kicking the challenge off with a session of sound bowl healing, one of my favorite activities. A second session is scheduled for the first week of June as well. The weather is warming up and there’s a couple free yoga sessions each week with an instructor I really like, so I’m adding those to the calendar, in pencil as my energy level allows.

Acupuncture and milk each week help me keep my glow. I have two passes for a salt float (similar to a sensory deprivation tank, but larger) that are like a deep meditation session, and I’ll add those where and when I can.

Love I get to see Vivian every other Saturday, still, and we are supposed to start adding in time on the following Sundays, as well as video chats on the Friday before. I’m looking forward to that.

Academic Housekeeping: I need to finish up the semester projects and send them off. I’ve been dragging my feet and will have them done and turned in by the end of zero week.

Forest Monk

There is actually such a thing as a Forest Monk. Because the Universe loves me and wants me to be happy.

 

Druid's gonna druid

Progressive Era Dress

The Progressive Era Dress, out in the wild, finally blocked and dry and ready to go.