“The Art of Pausing”

The Art of Pausing is a fascinating little book. The subtitle is Meditations for the Overworked and Overwhelmed. I thought, those words “overworked and overwhelmed” is how I feel at times. How about you? The book is essentially a collection of 99 haikus written by three authors “who inhabit very different worlds.” Brother Paul Quentin is a Trappist monk at Gethsemani. He’s a talented writer and photographer. Michael Bever, a retired educator, is an ordained Disciple of Christ minister “who was drawn later in life to Catholic traditions.” And last, there’s Judith Valente, a broadcast journalist for PBS-TV, writer, and retreat leader. Happenstance brought them together and they began exchanging haikus. Eventually they decided to write a book together, a book of haikus based on the 99 names of God referred to in sacred texts.

I’d like to share three of their haikus with you. They all follow the classic English-language haiku: three lines of five, seven, and five syllables. The first haiku, by Judith Valente, focuses on “God, the Designer”:

Neutrons seek protons

they hold the world together

for what, if not love?

Valente says that what she finds fascinating is “how all things, from protons to planets, collaborate, like the components of a perfectly calibrated watch.” She likes to think that “it is the universe’s love for us that holds things together in such a delicate balance.” As for me, I like to think that everytime I am attracted to someone (a friend, a stranger, a tree, a puppy) or something (a poem, an ocean, a concerto, a pizza) I am participating in the great dynamic of seeking–a seeking which permeates the universe–a seeking which eventually leads us to one another and ultimately to God, the Greatest Seeker of them all!

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The second haiku, by Michael Bever, is entitled “God, the All-Aware.”

Redbud branch in breeze

pale enticing afternoon

erases thinking.

Bever says there are many forms of prayer: the liturgy, the recitation of the psalms, the rosary, to name a few. But some people, like Thomas Merton, believed that the deepest prayer “needs no verbiage.” He maintained that there is so much talking that is “utterly useless. It is in the sky, the sea, the redwoods that you will find answers.” Says Bever, “I am grateful for those lazy afternoons when I can slow down long enough to notice a redbud tree’s branches swaying in the wind. A time of thinking about not thinking.”

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The third poem is by Brother Paul Quenon, OCSO. It focuses on the day in Jesus’ life when the religious elders brought him a woman caught in the act of adultery. It’s called “God the Utterly Just”:

At a cruel moment

Jesus stooped, scrawled in dust

Best haiku ever—

Says Brother Paul, “To this day, no one knows exactly what Jesus wrote.” Whatever it was, it was enough “to send the crowd slinking away.” Brother Paul sometimes imagines that “Jesus wrote a short poem, perhaps even haiku-like, that struck at the heart of our human propensity for condemnation and judgment.” Jesus’ simple gesture has the power “to open up a wider vision of the world–one shaped by forgiveness and a divine judgment utterly new to our understanding.”

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For reflection:

Did any of these haikus speak to you? Is so, which one and why?

Have you ever had experiences that “erase thinking”? Describe one of those experiences and how you felt afterwards.

Do you think God is the “Greatest Seeker of them all”? If so, what leads you to believe that? If not, what leads you not to believe that?

I invite you to try your hand at writing a haiku below. It can be about anything you want. And it doesn’t have to be perfect. When I taught high school, I’d sometimes make myself do the assignments I gave my students–to remind myself of how challenging an assignment could be for my students. So I thought I would do this suggested “assignment” I just gave you! Here’s my haiku:

“Blogging”

Hard work coupled with

the Spirit’s inspiration:

joy-filled partnership.

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PS: A BIG thank you for all you planned and attended and prayed for the “SHINE Women’s Summit” in Toledo, Ohio last Thursday, sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame. This year’s event, with the theme of creativity, honored five women in the area who S – support, H – honor, I- inspire, N – nurture, and E- empower others in a wide variety of ways: as art educators, media experts, advocates for the performing arts, professionals at the Toledo Museum of Art, and internationlly recognized artists. I was privileged to be one of the panelists who shared ideas on the importance of creativity in our lives. I came away from the event inspired, encouraged, and with a deep sense of renewed hope! Special thanks to the Advancement Office staff–especially Kerri–and the three SND’s who provided me with their gracious hospitality, Carol, Sally, and Karel.

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Michael Bever spoke about wordless prayer. So today’s music video (5 min.) has no words. And there are no lovely nature pictures in the background to “distract” you from the piano solo. There’s only pure pure sound… pure music… pure song. In this case it’s Chopin’s “Nocturne in E Flat Major (Op. 9, No. 2). You might be fascinated by “seeing the sound”on the video. I know I was… or you might want to close your eyes and just let the pure sound enter into yourself…

I invite you to respond to this blog below. I hope a few of you will write your very own haiku… don’t be shy…