Thanks to Spiritual Directors International for this practice challenge. (Photo is mine)
PRACTICE CHALLENGE
1) Go outside and find a big tree, or at least a tree that is taller or older than you.
2) Look from the roots of the tree to its uppermost branches. Let your gaze linger at the top of the tree. Listen.
3) Invoke and welcome stillness.
4) Imagine yourself as that tree, firmly anchored and freely moving at the same time. Your roots hold you steady in the earth. Imagine how you are connected and held – both physically in the ground and spiritually in the legacy you carry of generations of trees that have gone before you. Feel your limbs move with the wind. Feel yourself bend and sway — you are flexible and yet strong. The sun shines on you. Your leaves turn this sunlight into energy. Feel the mystery of photosynthesis within you as you make food from light.
5) Breathe out as the tree, breathe in as a human.
6) Listen.
7) Discern.
Blessings to you all,
Christy