A few years ago, I stumbled upon a book called, On Looking — a fascinating read about the art of observation.
In this book, author Alexandra Horowitz takes her readers on several walks around her Manhattan neighbourhood, accompanied by people with a diverse range of expertise — a geologist, a physician, an artist, a sound engineer, an urban designer, even a child and a dog.
As Alexandra explored her familiar streets with fresh eyes and ears, learning from these differing perspectives, she finds herself immersed in a much deeper understanding of the power of human attention and how humans perceive their environments — revealing to her what it means to be an expert observer and just how much more there is to see, if only we would really look.
Considering our soul work theme for this month, we can’t help but think how the insight from On Looking parallels beautifully with our sense of belonging.
We belong to one another, don’t we?
As much as this culture tries to convince us that independence is a pathway to wholeness, the sobering statistics on loneliness and depression tell a different story.
We need each other.
We are hardwired for community.
We are better together.
As Bayo Akomolafe says (activist, professor of psychology, and executive director of the Emergence Network), “we need to slow down.”
We need to listen to one another, “to people on the edges of our culture, to those who have been traditionally shut down and dismissed.” We need to listen “to the Sacred whisperings through the trees, the rain, the drought, the insects … echoing in the lost prairies and parking lots, calling us into a rewilded and resacralized life together.”
And as we listen together, a new “story emerges through us, in a billion, small ways.”
As you explore the following prompts in today’s intermission, consider what “belonging to one another” and “expert observation” might look like for you today, this week, this month, this year.
How much more might you see if only you were to really look?
– With Joy
Source: “On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to the Art of Observation” by Alexandra Horowitz
Pause for Thought
“[Oneness] is an easy thing to profess, until we realize that it must include not only the people we like and agree with, not only those to whom we are sympathetic, but also those whom we view as abhorrent (whatever side of a political position we may hold). We don’t get to choose who we are one with—it’s everybody.”
Source: Liza J. Rankow, Mysticism and Social Action: The Ethical Demands of Oneness, via Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, Everything Belongs – Oneness with Everyone, July 10, 2023.
Pause for Practice
Terra Divina is an ancient Christian practice based on the prayer practice Lectio Divina. Here, space is created to listen and pay attention to the Holy at work by entering into ‘Sacred Earth.’
By placing yourself on the land, or imaginatively picturing yourself out in nature, you engage with the following practice through observation of your surroundings, allowing whatever surfaces to reveal God’s presence at work in and through what is around you. This form of praxis is an invitation into the sacred space of creation.
Begin by going for a walk to find a comfortable place of quiet. When you have found a spot that speaks to you, get comfortable and take a few deep breaths to get settled. Invite God’s presence.
The following prompts can begin when you’re settled and ready.
- Step 1: Lectio — With yourself placed in nature, “read” the landscape of what’s around you: people, plants, trees, flowers, birds, clouds, etc. Look up, down, left, right; simply pay attention to what you see and hear. Notice what nudges your attention.
- Step 2: Meditatio — Begin to wonder and get curious about the things that have caught your attention. Why do you think these things stand out? What are the gifts they offer—whether painful or joyful. What might the messages and meanings be?
- Step 3: Oratio — Offer up a time of prayer and conversation with God over the things you’ve noticed. As you consider these messages and meanings, bring these observations to God in and through prayer. Give voice to the insights you’ve gained.
- Step 4: Contemplatio — Now let go of all the structure of this practice and just be. Bask in the presence of the present. Enjoy the air in your lungs. Savor what surrounds you. Sit deeply with your sense of belonging and connectedness to all things.
Pause for Prayer
“Lover of life, you give us sweet air and clean water. You give us healthy gardens to walk in. You are the God of seedling and plant, of snow and ice, of sun that melts snow. You are the God of birds chasing birds and of puppies chasing their tails. Let us respect your good creation and touch the earth lightly as we tread.
I commend to you all who faithfully did their jobs today. Thank you:
For those who changed oil, sold tires, installed brakes …
For men and women who took temperatures and checked blood pressure …
For accountants, bankers, stockbrokers, insurance agents, who dealt honourably with people’s money and security …
For painters, sculptors, and curators, who created or displayed beauty …
For prisoners in prison shops, for guards who treated them fairly, for wardens who ordered flowers to be planted in prison yards …
For occupational therapists who helped patients function better in daily life …
For men and women who honourably legislated, governed, and judged today …
They did their job and now deserve their rest. Thank you for all of them.”
Amen.
Source: Morning and Evening Prayers by Cornelius Plantinga, pp.116-117. Adapted for length.
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P.S. Even in the chaos, we belong to one another 😉
