It seems we all begin in naiveté and eventually return to a “second naiveté” or simplicity, whether willingly or on our deathbed. This blessed simplicity is calm, knowing, patient, inclusive, and self-forgetful. It helps us move beyond anger, alienation, and ignorance. I believe this is the very goal of mature adulthood and mature religion.
Adapted by and from Richard Rohr
Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
I photographed a large fish in warm, sunlit riverbank shallows this evening. Sheltered there, an inch from and alongside the keel of a boat. I stood close enough to observe stillness, a resting. Meditation, even. Tiny movements caused widening concentric circles, like the walls of a round tower, or the song of a bowl. Protecting.
Tidal turning moved the boat but though the fish tail fluttered it made no attempt to avoid rude collision. Calm and knowing came to mind. And the circles, it turned out, were not merely decorative poetry but the very boundaries earlier implied. Invisible pressure maintained perfect, measured distance between boat and fish.
Arrived-at contemplation.
wind in my wheels 🌱 