I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Rick Diehl’s reflection From the Forest to the Desert.

For over fifty years I lived in the US Northeast. Taking countless walks in the Thoreauan woods  of Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Then, almost a decade ago, my wife and I  moved to the high desert of Arizona. Maybe this new landscape would give me revelation on the lives of the Ammas and Abbas of the Desert – you would have thought? Well it did, but not the way I assumed. Instead of seeing the harshness and bareness of the desert, I saw the  beauty. To this day I am amazed at how many flowers, shrubs, trees, and animals have  adapted to the thin air and relentless sun of the desert. They thrive with little. The Divine desert  design principles are built into who they are. They wait patiently for the soaking rains of the seasonal summer monsoons. Gee, I have a lot to learn from this place. 

The last few years for many of us have been less than lush with abundance. A post-pandemic world where division seems way more popular than unity and understanding. Books like Earth, The Original Monastery and Sacred Time are, for me, manna in times of want. The prayer of Saint Francis is one of my go to reminders to understand rather than to be understood. I am so grateful for all the Abbey of the Arts posts and resources along with my local centering prayer group and friends. My fellow monks and pilgrims have inspired me to finally start writing down my poetry. Here are a few: 

Silence

Once an enemy
Now dear friend
Empty?
The opposite, full
The space between all things is silence
Stillness connects moments
Balances the colors
Removes the noise
So you can hear the Wind
Wind pauses time
Quiet quenches fires
Fills sails
Moistens dry lips
Silence connects hands with heart
Stillness calms my storm
Alone?
Never… silence is presence

Each Day

Morning prayers start with the chorus of songbirds
Even before the sun fully rises
They are thrilled to praise the Maker of the new day
The mountains are my abbey
The forest my hermitage
The bank beside the still stream… my cell
Midday finds my hands at tasks
Lonely? Never
For you are the God of the laundry
The Lord of sweeping
As I cook You entertain me with thoughts of grace
I see out the window
The two squirrels that spiral run up the Ponderosa
The sun journeys along its arc whether I perceive it or not
But the crepuscular rabbits and deer let me know that sunset is coming
Vespers is lead by the chortle of the ravens as they head to roost
They know the times for Evensong better that I do
Sun down
The candle is the story of who we are in this world
My weary head finds the pillow welcoming
Stay awake to ponder or pray?
No, for He gives to His beloved sleep
Watcher over all
Isaiah warned of occupying myself with things too great or marvelous
The darkness and rest is where you are, always
Til the songbirds call me again.

Feathers

Most never noticed
I see them
I pick them up
Delicate
Vanes so soft
Colors, on some
Lift the hollow boned wind walkers
Or leave a trace to where they were
Or where they fought
I see messages in them
Wind travelers
Soaring is better than flapping
Feathers are stories

I’m by nature much more monastic than communal if I’m being honest. So my challenge lately is to not be too isolated and to join with others even in these barren times. To take a lesson from the flowering manzanita plants that grow together across an entire hillside. Or be like many cactus that for a time grow in the shade of another stronger tree until it’s ready to reach out for the sun on it’s own.

Best to all of you whether in forest, farm, city, island, or desert.

Rick Diehl and his wife Janet live in the beautiful Prescott, Arizona. A retired instructional designer and video editor who now spends his days with hiking, kayaking, pickleball, and videography. Rick and his wife often travel around America in their van seeing beautiful places and people.

The post Monk in the World Guest Post: Rick Diehl appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.