COP 26 DREAM: CLIMATE PILGRIMS

I thought my blog for today was going to be about COP 26 and the climate conference in Scotland.

But last night I had a dream that changed my mind.

The dream was about a bar in my old Windsor neighbourhood and another bar at the "end of the world" (Key West).  Both bars make me think of the poet Hafiz. Hafiz writes about  bars / taverns being places where pilgrims meet, rest, share stories about their search for Love and God, and the desire for healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation

Why am I thinking of Greta Thunberg and the Crash Landing in the Florida Keys.

A poem to explain:

KWF  Poem

"A coral rock that stands alone

Offering, promising

Soothing, healing

Whispering this could be Home.

There is ink for the inspired

Respite for the tired

And warmth for a heart grown cold.

Question the mystery, answer the sea

Let the dream in yourself

Drive all else-- reach the Western Key.

Sparkling green and swelling sea

Feed word after precious word to me.

Splashes of wisdom roll on the waves

Salty wet laughter splashes my face!

I closed my eyes tight and deeply breathed

I tasted, I felt, and I heard...

The stirring of Life left in me.

Now the sun is sinking low

It's a perfect sunset sky

I just learned to say hello

Now it's time to say goodbye."

(Cb, Key West, 1990)

My hope and prayer for this blog is what Thomas Merton said in, 'New Seeds of Contemplation', and I'm paraphrasing here, "We can only hope to say or write something that sparks something for someone else".  
 
I am grateful for the people in my life who said or wrote, preached or prayed, something that sparked something for me on my journey.  Thank you.
 
Cb

Amen

Happy Feast of All Saints


Popular posts from this blog

STOPPED IN MY TRACKS

Image
SANTA SUBITO. Deep breath. Yesterday I learned in the best and gentlest way possible that my friend Gabbie passed away on January 12, 2025. It was Gabbie who encouraged me to start blogging during Covid-19 lockdowns in Toronto. I want to say more about my friend Gabbie and our connection through the Sisters of Life, but not right now. My heart is too full of love and joy and grief, and honestly just awe. I'm stopped in my tracks for now... I heard a song today during  Canada Day  celebrations that made me think of Gabbie. It's  I Believe in You , by Amanda Marshall:  Bing Videos . Gabbie believed in me and she loved Jesus so much-- both of which I benefitted from so much. Thanks Gabs💕 I don't know whether Gabbie will be put forward as a potential Catholic saint, I hope so. Gabbie and I actually never met in person but we shared the same taste in boots and hats. Our friendship began through an extraordinary snail mail adventure in the middle of covid lockdowns, it de...
Read more

MAKINGS OF A GOOD PRODIGAL DAUGHTER STORY

As I continue to sit with the question of whether or not to wrap up my blog at the end of the summer, I sit also with the story of the Prodigal Son . And like in the Prodigal Son , my blog  Stranded on the Mainland has it's roots in the loss of and longing for, home. Below are some mid-August thoughts on this: WHAT IF the daughter didn't want to leave home like the prodigal son did, what if she was sent to the city? What if she doesn't squander her "inheritance" at all, but is (unbeknownst to most, including herself) is amassing a treasure, a fortune, and spiritual inheritance, "one that protects her from nothing and sustains her in everything."--Jim Finley. WHAT IF it's the daughter who through therapy and grace brings back a new robe for her traumatized self to put on, a ring for her finger, and sandals for her feet? WHAT IF it's the daughter who's preparing the roast beef dinner? And the daughter rushing down the road to meet her true sel...
Read more

OPPOSING VALUES AND ADVENT HOPE

Image
Today I'm realizing something I never considered before: "How I as a straight, white, Christian woman-- being treated with fairness can feel like oppression." Wow. And flipping this over-- how oppression and mistreatment can feel like fairness and love. Wow. With that said, the prophetic talk below is not one I would typically think of as an Advent talk, but it is-- especially in 2025 in this world full of people who oppose each other's values. American democracy is bleeding out; now Canadian environmental guardrails are sadly beginning to fail. For those of us with e yes to see and ears to hear , this is a time of clashing and crashing values-- if our values were being traded on the stock market it would be 1920. We don't know where all this worldly chaos is heading, it's true. But we have the Prophet's Candle (old and new). And we have Hope. And we have this prophetic Advent challenge in a podcast episode from The Center for Action and Contemplation, Le...
Read more