Hello friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome back to another instalment of our series,
The Calm Beneath The Storm.
And over these past days,
You've been learning to rest in the deeper water,
To return beneath the surface,
To trust the quiet,
To recognise the presence of Christ within and to carry that peace into your daily life.
And today we're going to gently explore what begins to happen next,
When the peace within you begins to flow outward.
As always,
We begin by allowing ourselves to settle gently into this time.
Just take a nice breath in and out.
Allow the stillness of this moment to draw you in.
And may your heart,
Your mind and your body be at rest,
Attentive and listening to the whispers of the Spirit.
And I invite you to bring your awareness inward.
Notice the quiet space within you,
Even if at the moment it feels small or subtle.
Just notice it.
A sense of steadiness and stability.
A place that's not easily disturbed.
In Paul's letter to the Philippians,
We hear these words.
Paul writes,
The peace of God,
Which passes all understanding,
Will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Imagine that peace now,
Not as something that's far off,
But as something that is already present within you.
It's a quiet presence,
Yes,
But it's a quiet presence.
It's steady and it's protective and it's holding your heart and your mind.
Just rest here for a few moments,
Breathing gently and allowing that peace to settle.
Now,
Without losing that inner stillness,
Begin to widen your awareness.
Imagine the space around you,
The room you're in,
The world beyond the room and the people that you'll encounter today.
And notice that you're not separate from them.
You are part of the same human story,
The same ocean,
The same movement of life.
And as that awareness broadens and widens,
Now very,
Very carefully begin to let that peace move outward.
Don't force it.
It doesn't have to be dramatic.
Just a quiet offering of something that you found within,
That presence of Christ in you,
That peace in which you've been held.
And allow it to flow out into that space,
Into those people.
As you breathe in,
Receive the peace of God.
And as you breathe out,
Allow it to flow outward.
It's breathing in,
Receiving and breathing out,
Offering.
And you might imagine this as just a subtle light,
Or maybe even a quiet ripple that moves from within you and radiates out into the space and the people who are around you.
And perhaps someone will come to mind,
A person that you'll see today or someone who might be struggling.
And I invite you to hold them in your awareness.
And as you breathe out,
Offer that person who's been brought to your mind,
The simple blessing of peace be with you.
This is not about fixing their problem or even your own or changing someone.
Just offer them peace as you breathe that peace in and then breathe it out towards them.
And I just invite you to rest here for a few moments,
Receiving peace and offering peace.
Held and giving.
And it's important to notice that this doesn't drain you.
As you give,
You don't lose anything.
And this is because the peace that you have is not something that you are creating.
It's something you're receiving and allowing to flow through you.
You are the conduit for that peace that comes from God,
That comes from Christ's indwelling in you.
And you're simply allowing that to continue to flow through you into those who need it,
Who are around you.
And so I invite you just to allow your awareness to come back.
And prepare to rise and move into the rest of your day.
And as you do,
Remember that you can become a place of calm.
And to do this,
You don't need to strive.
You don't need to try.
You don't need to force.
You don't need to conjure anything up.
All you need to do is abide in the peace that Christ has already given you.
And from that place,
Peace naturally flows outwards into conversations,
Into moments,
And into the lives of others.
And of course,
May that peace,
But also grace,
Hope,
And love be with you and flow through you everywhere you go and to all that you meet today and every day.
Amen.
Until next time,
May peace be with you.
