Hello there,
a short letter, a long(er) conversation -
a podcast even!
(at the end of this letter you’ll find some upcoming programs)
Follow this link and…
…you can listen to a (dutch) conversation between me and Joost Röselaers - a church minister - wandering through a dutch desert (ok, a heath), wondering about Moses wandering through a different (actual) desert in a different time, wondering about the promised land - a wandering wondering that has echoed throughout all these generations, finding new voices in every age:
no one knows what will happen now
for that is the essence of walking through the desert -
walking one’s path, the path disappears; you can’t see where you’re going - that’s how you know…
so
listen…
pay attention…
and let yourself be found
…
keep going…
keep wondering…
keep wandering
…and if you’re wondering how to wander down the path of wonder, you’re in good company - so let Herman Hesse guide us away from this screen, out into the world, into wonder, into the desert and who knows - maybe even into the promised land, what and whenever that may be…
Wonder is where it starts, and though wonder is also where it ends, this is no futile path. Whether admiring a patch of moss, a crystal, flower, or golden beetle, a sky full of clouds, a sea with the serene, vast sigh of its swells, or a butterfly wing with its arrangement of crystalline ribs, contours, and the vibrant bezel of its edges, the diverse scripts and ornamentations of its markings, and the infinite, sweet, delightfully inspired transitions and shadings of its colors — whenever I experience part of nature, whether with my eyes or another of the five senses, whenever I feel drawn in, enchanted, opening myself momentarily to its existence and epiphanies, that very moment allows me to forget the avaricious, blind world of human need, and rather than thinking or issuing orders, rather than acquiring or exploiting, fighting or organizing, all I do in that moment is “wonder,” and not only does this wonderment establish my brotherhood with the poets and sages, it also makes me a brother to those wondrous things I behold and experience as the living world: butterflies and moths, beetles, clouds, rivers and mountains, because while wandering down the path of wonder, I briefly escape the world of separation and enter the world of unity.
-
into wonder,
and into unity,
we go!
-
Love,
from
Louis
Upcoming programs:
online course life and work in the rhythm of the seasons: from september till december, every month i’ll host a two-hour session on that specific month, inspired by this book. Also, a new podcast with Jaap Voigt is forthcoming - you can listen to a previous two-part conversation right here; if interested, let me know - i’ll put you on the list : more information soon!
meditazione; every other week or so, i guide an online meditation and it usually ends with story time (where i share something that i’m inspired by at that moment) and a short conversation with whoever wants to stay and converse (feel very free to join and leave anytime you want);
and if you have enjoyed this letter of news you might consider donating a small amount through this link. Much appreciated!
final thoughts:
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Go here to listen to my previous pastoral walk and talk with Joost (starting out with a shepherd and his sheep, no less).
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A longer excerpt from the David Whyte interview:
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Go here to read a blogpost from some time ago that dives a bit deeper into MLK’s last speech.
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Rolling like Moses…:
..this is not a moment, it's the movement
Where all the hungriest brothers with something to prove went?
Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand
We roll like Moses, claimin' our promised land
And if we win our independence?
Is that a guarantee of freedom for our descendants?
Or will the blood we shed begin
An endless cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?
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THE OBJECTIVE will NOT get you to the promised land:
…but that final 30 seconds might just show the way…
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happy wandering!
