Thought for the day, Tuesday 8th March

International Women’s Day

Goddess by Misha Sanders

“In a sacred place of honor
in the temple that is my home
stands a gleaming, powerful image of
The Venus of Willendorf,
proud and naked,
her unbound breasts resting on her
fully rotund belly, blissful and heavy
with the ripeness of all life
and the sweet milk that sustains it,
having no apologies to make for the
fat fullness of her thighs,
grown strong and proud from the
carrying of this wide expanse of hips,
and a rump the roundness of which
has enchanted poets and priests
since before time.
The Wise Goddess-Child
who is my daughter
calls this image The Mommy Doll,
and she has no interest in the notion
that maybe this lush feminine form
was not fashioned to look like me.
How, then, can I face this child
and not stand tall and BE A GODDESS
and in whatever size I am
be content?
I do not need
minimizing panels in my panties
and wires in my bra
to be divine and full of beauty.
Full of beauty.
Not starving.
Not starving for affection, approval,
appreciation, confirmation,
conformity, or anonymity.
But fully at home in the body of
this woman
who takes up her share of space
without saying I’m sorry,
and still leaves room enough in the world for
you.
So, to you,
and to me,
and to the Wise Goddess-Child who is my daughter,
I say,
fearlessly and wondrously are we made
in the image of
She Who is Most Holy,
and the
blasphemy
of body hatred
has no place
in this temple.”

Thought for the day, Wednesday 2nd March

Blessing the Dust by Jan Richardson,

“All those days
you felt like dust,
like dirt,
as if all you had to do
was turn your face
toward the wind
and be scattered
to the four corners
or swept away
by the smallest breath
as insubstantial—
did you not know
what the Holy One
can do with dust?
This is the day
we freely say
we are scorched.
This is the hour
we are marked
by what has made it
through the burning.
This is the moment
we ask for the blessing
that lives within
the ancient ashes,
that makes its home
inside the soil of
this sacred earth.
So let us be marked
not for sorrow.
And let us be marked
not for shame.
Let us be marked
not for false humility
or for thinking
we are less
than we are
but for claiming
what God can do
within the dust,
within the dirt,
within the stuff
of which the world
is made
and the stars that blaze
in our bones
and the galaxies that spiral
inside the smudge
we bear.”

Thought for the day, Sunday 27th February

Listening is Peace by Alfred Lamotte,

“Listening is peace.
Listen to the most distant sound you can hear.
A seal barking from a wild rocky island across the water.
Now the rustle of a nest-building robin
in the bush by your window.
Listen to the bells of the red winged black bird
in the rushes by the stream,
and the silence between them.
Now you can hear the stream.
You can hear the moon in daylight.
Listening is peace.
Cast the blessing
of gratitude
across vast spaces
just by listening, which is prayer.
And as if it were a song,
listen to your breath, flowing in,
flowing out.
The stars will teach you your name.
And you will hear the ancient story
of the present moment,
filled with the clamor of
shields and spears,
the clash of wings,
the bronze promise of heavy-laden ships
on the blue horizon,
the flaring and dying out of suns,
in the atoms your body.
Cast the blessing of gratitude
across vast spaces
just by listening.
Listening is peace.”