The Poetry of the Physical

I am mesmerized by this.

I realize that some people find the lyrics to the song scandalous although I listened to the artist and he said he was writing about the sex abuse scandal in Ireland.
I don't know and I don't really care.
What has absolutely stunned me is the profound and sublime artistry of Sergei Polunin and what he can do with his body.
He is truly physical poetry.

On this first Saturday of Lent, I vow to treat my body with more respect, feeding it and exercising it with greater care.

De Profundis

Out of the Depths

 

 

From the depths, I have cried out to you, O Lord;

Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive

to the voice of my supplication.

If you, Lord, were to mark iniquities, who, O Lord, shall stand?

For with you is forgiveness; and because of your law, I stood by you, Lord.

My soul has stood by his word.

My soul has hoped in the Lord.

From the morning watch, even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.

For with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

I believe that all of us, at some points in our lives, find outselves De Profundis--in the depths.

What depth are you crying from? The depth of self-loathing? Of depression? Of fear? Of anxiety?
Remember, even when our depths feel as endless as space, space is itself suffused with the Divine. It is precisely in the depths that we will find both the Divine and ourselves--and come home again.

Ashes to Ashes

This Lent, I've decided that instead of the usual "giving something up," I am going to try to be pro-active in my disciplines. I know very well how to deny myself. Once I went an entire year without a taste of chocolate and I love chocolate. But discipline--ah that's a different story. I don't do well with self-discipline.

So I have decided that I will do something this Lent that will have help me increase my self-discipline and hopefully, bring some value to others. I have promised a wonderful group of women who are struggling, as I do, with needing to lose some weight that I would write a short prayer or devotion especially directed toward "weighty" issues each day of Lent.

So with that....

I know a lot of people dislike the hymn "Ashes," feeling that its lyrics are smaltzy. However, it's one of my favorite because of the second verse:

We offer you our failures,
we offer you attempts,
the gifts not fully given,
the dreams not fully dreamt.
Give our stumblings direction,
give our visions wider view,
an offering of ashes, an offering to you.

This resonates with me especially with dieting and weight. I keep failing to reach my goal. I keep attempting to stay on play. I dream about being fit and healthy, but I don't dream it fully enough to bring it to reality.

So this Lent, one more time, I am making my offering of ashes...in the hope that I will finally find that wider view.