Hello friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome to the calm beneath the storm.
Over the next several days,
We're going to explore a simple but powerful image.
Life can sometimes feel like being in a small boat on a restless sea.
The winds rise,
The waves move around us,
And at times it can feel as though we're being tossed in every direction back and forth.
In this series,
We'll be exploring how to find the calm beneath the storms.
But today we'll begin with something very simple.
We begin by noticing the storm itself.
So let's begin by settling the body.
If you're sitting,
Allow your feet to rest on the ground,
Let your hand rest comfortably.
If you're lying down,
Allow the body to soften into the surface beneath you.
Take a slow gentle breath in,
And out.
And again,
Breathe in,
And out.
Allow your mind,
Your heart,
And your body to settle into this moment together.
In Mark's Gospel,
We hear a story about the disciples crossing the lake with Jesus.
The story says,
A great windstorm arose,
And the waves beat into the boat.
So the water is rough,
And the wind is strong,
And the boat is being tossed by the sea.
And for a moment,
I invite you to imagine yourself in that boat,
As someone sitting among the disciples.
You feel the movement of the waves beneath you.
You hear the wind moving across the surface of the water.
The sea is unsettled.
In our own lives,
Storms often look different.
They might be pressure at work.
Responsibilities that feel heavy.
Conversations that weigh on the mind.
Uncertainty about the future,
Or simply the constant movement of thoughts that never seem to rest.
For the next few moments,
Just notice those storms that may be present in your life right now.
Just see them as waves moving across the surface of the sea.
Perhaps a worry appears.
Just let it be there.
Perhaps a tension in the body.
Let it be there too.
Perhaps a thought about something unfinished or uncertain.
Allow it also to pass like a wave moving across the water.
Now our instinct when storms appear,
Is to fight the waves.
Our body tightens,
We try and control everything.
But the spiritual life begins somewhere else.
The spiritual life begins with honesty.
Simply recognizing,
Naming the storm that we're in.
And remembering something else from the story as well.
That Jesus is also in this boat with you.
So now we introduce a very simple prayer.
A quiet,
Breathing prayer that you can carry with you.
As you breathe in,
Gently say in your heart,
Jesus.
And as you breathe out,
Continue the prayer.
You are here.
You don't have to say the words,
Although you can if you want to.
But just in the quiet of your heart,
As you follow your breath.
Let's try that together.
Breathing in,
Jesus.
Breathing out,
You are here.
And again,
Breathing in,
Jesus.
And breathing out,
You are here.
As you keep breathing,
Allow the words to move gently with your breath.
And let this be just a gentle remembering.
The waves may still be moving.
The storms may still exist,
But you're not alone in the boat.
Jesus is already present within the journey.
Again,
Breathing in,
Jesus.
And breathing out,
You are here.
As you continue to breathe,
Allow your body to relax and soften.
Allow the waves of thought to come and go and simply rest here for a few moments.
And as our time of prayer comes to an end,
Take one slightly deeper breath.
Notice your body again and the room around you.
And gently return to the rest of your day.
And remember this small prayer whenever the waves begin to rise.
Breathing in,
Jesus.
And breathing out,
You are here.
And as you carry that prayer into your day,
May all grace,
Peace and love be with you today and always.
Until tomorrow,
Bye for now.
