Where is your “sit spot?” – learning WITH the land #1

I am sitting under an amazing mesquite tree. The tree is maybe 30-50 years old. It is 3-foot in diameter, with limbs reaching outward and upward like 30 foot arms lifted in praise, creating a welcoming-sized shade area to sit under. This Ent-ish being has spent much of life growing sideways along the ground. There are signs of surviving droughts and floods, and even a tornado. This tree has a story to tell…has wisdom to share…has made a life-long commitment to this little part of creation…and has a voice inviting all to pause and sit under for a while.

Jon Young, founder of the 8 Shields bird-language immersion program, teaches the importance of having a “sit spot”…a place where we regularly go and practice minimizing the ripples we make in the world…a place where we practice a routine of intimacy and connection with the world around us.

My daily rhythms give off a lot of ripples…like the ripples created from a stone tossed into a calm pond. When I speak, sound waves literally ripple through the air around me. When I go on my morning walk, my body ripples through time and space. When my cell phone buzzes or vibrates…this ripple can induce joy, as well as anxiety. We all live in a world filled with constant ripples that are both life-giving and life-draining…from those good ripples of hugs, homemade meals, and texts of support from loved ones, to the disruptive noise and pollution from cars and planes burning fossil fuels, to that eye twitch from the ripple of a family member washing (banging) dishes when I am trying to do something in the adjacent room. A sit spot is about creating space to practice moving WITH the world, not just moving IN the world.

It takes about 15 minutes for the ripples you are making in the world to quiet enough for you to become aware of the world around you. It takes about 15 minutes of being still in a place for creatures nearby to realize you are part of the landscape and not there to squish or harm them. It takes about 15 minutes for your eyes to fully adjust to a dark night sky full of stars.

I think this practice of loving our creation neighbor can shape how we enter spaces together with our human neighbor. Have you ever experienced someone coming into a room and the entire feel of the space quickly changing? Maybe the room starts clapping in gratitude, or the room gets quickly quiet and flighty-feeling. It is helpful to be aware of the ripples we bring to a space, group, or conversation. A “sit spot” gives us practice in minimizing the disturbing ripples we can cause, which at the same time increases our awareness to the ripples of life and connection happening all around us.

Where might be a “sit spot” you can return to daily, weekly, every couple of weeks…to help you move more WITH the world?

Harold

One of the conversation strings I will have on this blog is my journey of walking with the part of creation that is stewarded by St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Marble Falls, TX. I seek to grow in what it means to be a pastor and child of God alongside others, through learning about and loving this small part of creation and all on it.