September can be a complicated month.
For some, September can be a time of deep relief and joy as they gladly move back into a rhythm of routine and structure.
For others, September can be an unwelcomed and stressful time representing a full calendar of non-stop activities, appointments, and responsibilities.
For businesses and organizations, September can easily come packaged with the pressure to launch successful fall initiatives, volunteer programs, and revised quarterly projections.
Still, for others, September can bring great sorrow, grief, and an ache of loneliness in reflecting on years gone by and the passing of time.
But regardless of what September represents for you, or the stage of life you find yourself in, this season also holds an invitation into simplicity.
“Amidst our life complexities, we stop, we breathe, we look for simplicity in pockets of peace.” [1]
Or, as The Message wisely nudges:
“I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little.” —Philippians 4:11-12, MSG
As you sit with the following prompts in today’s intermission, and as you explore the soul work theme of simplicity this month, invite The Holy to accompany you on this journey.
Whether you have much or little: time, energy, scheduling capacity, mental margin, financial resources, or physical flexibility, simplicity invites each of us to let go of whatever it is we’re gripping (or that grips us) in order to make room for what is.
“Amidst our life complexities, we stop, we breathe, we look for simplicity in pockets of peace.”
-With Joy
Source: From the Center for Action and Contemplation, Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, Week Thirty-Six: The Franciscan way, An Alternative Orthodoxy, September 3, 2023.
A Pause
Visio Divina is an ancient way of Christian prayer in which space is created to listen and pay attention to The Holy at work in our lives by entering into a sacred image. This form of praxis is an invitation into the sacred art of seeing, and the art below is the featured offering for your time of reflection.
As you read the following words from writer Alysha Waghorn, notice what speaks to you from the featured art. Allow God’s presence to prompt you with something specific that you can use to journey with you throughout the remainder of your week.
There is beauty in simplicity.
In watching the sun rise and set without rushing to be elsewhere.
In savoring your morning coffee before running out the door.
In wholesome conversations with one person as opposed to making small talk with ten.
In going for a walk, not to lose weight but to soak in your surroundings.
To see beauty and magic where others cannot.
A slow, simple life, with a small home, filled not with material items that clutter both your external and internal worlds, but one that is filled with love. One that evokes peace and tranquility.
A sense of calm.
Subtract the meaningless and leave only space for the meaningful.
Forgetting about tomorrow’s worries and focusing instead on the joy of today.
There is beauty in simplicity.
In making space for the things that matter most.
In overflowing with experiences and stories and gentle moments that take your breath away.
Click here for a high-res / full-print version of this art.
A Prompt
Enjoy simple pleasures this week that require no expense.
A Practice
Uncomplicate your life by choosing a few areas in which you wish to practice “letting go.” Clean out the garage. Go on a simple walk. Take an extra day to respond to text messages, or emails. Organize a bedroom. Eat simple food. Purge a closet. Notice what this is like for you and how the simplicity of letting go feels.
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- Click here for previous month’s art offerings
