First Delivery

As I begin this prayer, God is here.
Around me, in my sensations, in my thoughts and deep within me.
I pause for a moment, and become aware of God’s life-giving presence.

OK, we’re rolling! This is the official first post. (See the About page for a bit of background, if you’d care to.)

So, let’s start with the name of this blog. It means something. As I contemplated beginning the blog and exactly how to conceptualize it through the naming, which was important to me, I read an essay in the book, This I Believe. The very first essay, by Sarah Adams, is titled Be Cool to the Pizza Dude.  A lot of spirituality can be understood in that sentiment. It stuck. I think I’ll read it again right now . . .

I’m back; here’s the short list:

1. Coolness to the pizza delivery dude is a practice in humility and forgiveness.
2. Coolness to the pizza delivery dude is a practice in empathy.
3. Coolness to the pizza delivery dude is a practice in honor . . .
4. Coolness to the pizza delivery dude is a practice in equality.

I ask for the grace to believe in what I could be and do
if I only allowed God, my loving Creator,
to continue to create me, guide me and shape me.

Over the past couple of days I listened to an episode of the (HIGHLY recommended)  On Being podcast, titled Running as Spiritual Practice. It’s about running and it’s not about running; a small diversity of people share about their running practice and it’s place in their human-spiritual journey.  I’m not a runner (I did listen to it while walking the dog!) but I’m someone whose physical practices are an important part of my own human-spiritual journey, Three “captures” that made it into my Apple notes:

“Yeah, the best thing for you to remember is that the blessing is outside of your comfort zone.”

“The number one objective of my Olympic pursuit was to heal a broken soul.”

“. . . I’d been meditating for a number of years, not terribly successfully, and I began to notice that my running life and my meditating life were beginning to merge. One day, I came across an article about Thomas Merton in which Thomas Merton was quoted as saying that “prayer is the desire to pray.” And I didn’t really know about prayer as equating it with meditation. And so my notion of what prayer is about began to expand, because I imagine that God is most fully present with us at this moment, and to the extent to which you can find yourself in the present moment, then you’re finding yourself in prayer.”

Grant, O Lord, that I may be conscious and grateful
for all the good things you have given me.
May I share my blessings with others always.