Pineridge Blog

Last week I attended the first ever gathering of the Seminary of the Wild at Ghost Ranch retreat center in northern New Mexico. I had some really powerful and transformative experiences meeting the Wild Christ prayerfully on the land.  Here is a reflection I had last Thursday afternoon while sitting by a stream:

Lessons from a little stream:

• Always seek the lowest place.
• Go with the flow with an open heart.
• Nourish roots around you.
• Welcome disturbances, they reflect the light.
• Give joy in quiet ways.
• Pour out your gift generously and humbly.
• You are  part of something bigger than you will ever know.
• A stream is a conversation with the life around it.
• In some sense you are the tree, the flower, and the bee.
• Be free to meander.

Lessons from a creek bed:

• It is OK to be in the lowest place; it may serve a larger plan.
• Hold the water gently, and let it flow through you.
• Allow the water to reshape you.
• Create a disturbance; it reflects the light.
• You were supposed to lose some of the water so that others might be nourished.
• You are a part of something bigger than you will ever know.

Lessons from a water bug:

• Trust the water will hold you up, even though it doesn’t make sense.
• It is OK to hide behind a rock and rest sometimes.
• Don’t be afraid of the faster current; you are stronger than you know.
• Water is a gift to you, and you are a gift to the water.
• Sometimes you just need to skate wildly on the water because it is pure joy.

Lessons from hoofprints, paw prints and footprints in the muddy bank:

• If you simply are who you are others are drawn to you to find what they need.
• You will never know how you may nourish the lives of others by simply offering your gift.