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When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children, when we know love in our own hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Basho, we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash - at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of all values, the "newness," the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, all these provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance.

*Thomas Merton

Wisdom Story

When my husband and I lived in East Africa, one native custom intrigued us. Visitors stood at a distance and called, "Hodi." "Hodi" can be translated freely, "May I come?" After calling "Hodi," visitors would wait for the response, "Karibu," which means "Come closer." This little ritual was repeated two or three times until finally visitors stood face to face with their hosts in a doorway.

*Mildred Tengbom

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No distance exists between Grace and us. Yet, the felt-sense of Presence can be approached, something can be done to nurture a sense of Grace. Presence in a felt-sense of absence can still be responded to through action. We can always respond to Grace, and this can be as simple as stopping for a moment and becoming consciously present, or simply saying "Thank You."

How do we say "Yes" in action to Presence, whether we have some comforting sense of That or not? We can do this through ritual. If someone says that he or she has no ritual, but only sits in Silence, that is untrue. Sitting in Silence is ritual. Prayer is ritual. Any form that we take in response to Grace is ritual.

Prayer is a response to an inward, native calling to Home. At times, this can be experienced as an indefinable restlessness. The longing inside is the call to Grace from Grace. The ache that one has in the time of spiritual aridity is the same call.

Hafiz reminds us of this "God" children know, the One before Grace was given names. This Grace wants to dance with us. The dance may be a happy dance. The dance may be a sad dance. The dance need simply be authentic. There need not be any agenda that the dance has to be a particular way. Simply come, simply dance. Prayer is dance, whether you are chanting, swaying in the breeze, shouting praise, or sitting alone quietly, receptively to you-know-not-what.

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