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A Joyful Noise

meditation

Lessons from a Swallowtail

July 3, 2019 by Melodye Shore
Swallowtail

This Swallowtail visited my garden, earlier this week. It perched itself on a nearby Pentas Nova, oblivious to the camera slung around my neck and the pruning shears I carried.

It lingered for a long while, basking in the sunlight and sipping nectar.

I snapped a quick photo and then observed quietly from a distance.

I was mesmerized by the slow, steady rhythm of its beating wings and the seemingly infinite patience it demonstrated as it unfurled its proboscis and drew it up again, probing for food in one flower and then another. A metronome of the natural world, its tempo was unaffected by the take-offs and landings at the bird bath adjacent, fluttering palm fronds, and the swirl of activity at the goldfinch feeder.

And in those singular moments, I was a student again, learning life lessons in nature’s classroom.

Posted in: backyard, be still, Butterflies, flowers, garden, gardening, meditation, Nature, nectar, Swallowtail Butterfly, writing Tagged: flower, meditation, Pentas Nova, Swallowtail

Sweet dreams are made of this

June 29, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Posted in: Goff Island, Laguna Beach, sweet dreams are made of this, tide pool, tide pools, tides, writing Tagged: beach, Goff Island, meditation, ocean, ocean waves, sweet dreams are made of this, tide pool, waves

For such a time as this

June 27, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Illustration Via Queen of Your Own Life. Used with permission.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to remain silent, in such a time as this.

Children should be seen and not heard.

Stay sweet.

Silence is golden.

If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

We heard those messages loud and clear, many of us, for the whole of our childhoods. They found their echo in our adult relationships, and shaped our public interactions. No surprise, then, that some of us are biting our tongues until they bleed these days, and struggling mightily to hold ourselves in check.

I’m all about honesty, and a gracious kindness. I know firsthand the power of a “good word,” softly spoken. I’ll always believe “a soft answer turns away wrath,” and that actions speak louder than words. But good God a’mighty, enough with all this shushing! When the world has taken such a dramatic turn toward the dark…it’s a pearl of great price, this outwardly imposed silence.

A layer of fog rolled in from the ocean a few days ago, blanketing the backyard bistro table where I was contemplating this very thing. I thought about Queen Esther, who rose to power and lifted her people out of danger. Not by virtue of her position, but by speaking her truth. And in that clarifying moment, I recalled a familiar scripture:

“Peace, be still.”

Mind you, I’ve heard (and recited) that Bible verse many times before. It speaks to my soul, affirming the things I know to be true. It’s a call to a higher purpose, seems to me, for such a time as this:

Tune out the noisy distractions. 

Quiet your inner chatter.

Be the peace you want to see in the world.

Be still, and know.

Even so, I heard something new that day–or maybe I understood that Scripture on an even deeper level. It’s a calming voice amidst the churning, yes, but it can also be interpreted as a gentle rebuke of those who would oppress us:

Peace, be still!

We are blessed and a blessing, all of us. Our light is meant to be shared.  We are truth-seekers and storytellers, and we will not be muzzled.

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Posted in: be still, For such a time as this, Queen of your own life, Queenism, Rise, writing Tagged: be still and know, Bible verse, For such a time as this, meditation, peace be still, Queen of your own life, Queenism, RIse

Another Homecoming

November 10, 2014 by Melodye Shore

As someone who spent much of her itinerant childhood criss-crossing the country in the back of a family sedan, always searching for that elusive place called 'home,' I was enthralled by the prairie home that author Daisy Hickman describes in ALWAYS RETURNING: The Wisdom of Place.

HR_Always_Returning_300dpi_RGB_5.5x8.5-2
Book cover image via SunnyRoomStudio

"To my prairie heart," she writes, "the terrain I grew up with evokes feelings of pure delight. Untouched and free, the prairie symbolizes the great unknown–past, present and future wrapped in one, a convincing space knowing no boundaries or limits, no worries or demons: a place where my heart resides." Hickman could also be describing any number of beloved landscapes, seas, or skies–for that is the home we come to know when we explore our world with hearts and eyes wide open.

You'll find personal ruminations between the covers of this book, as well as inspirational passages from Hickman's favorite transcendentalists, philosophers, and prairie home companions. And perhaps you'll come away, as I did, understanding more deeply the meaning behind the beloved Zen teacher Thích Nhất Hạnh's words: "'I have arrived, I am home' is the shortest Dharma Talk I have ever given," he said. "It means 'I don't want to run anymore.' You need that insight in order to be truly established in the here and now, and to embrace life with all its wonders."

IMG_3581
Calligraphy by Zen teacher Thích Nhất Hạnh, purchased at my Day of Mindfulness at Deer Park Monastery.
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Posted in: Uncategorized Tagged: day of mindfulness, deer park monastery, escondido, i have arrived i am home, meditation, mindfulness, peace in every step, thich nhat hanh

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