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Infinitely Precious

Infinitely Precious

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Working Hard

October 1, 2023October 1, 2023 ~ James ~ 2 Comments

In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled? Admittedly, my first inclination was to interpret this as physical labor; physical labor is hard work. After reflecting, I am willing to see hard work includes any work in which someone can fully engage themselves. Practice makes the work easier but any work might be … Continue reading Working Hard

My Own Voice

September 30, 2023September 30, 2023 ~ James ~ 1 Comment

What’s the trait you value most about yourself? When my children were young, I would read to them most nights before bed. Often children’s stories have multiple characters, and so I would attempt to create appropriate voices for members of the Berenstain Bear family or Junie B Jones or any of children’s favorites. Almost without … Continue reading My Own Voice

Work-Life: A Do-Over Post

September 29, 2023 ~ James ~ 1 Comment

Daily writing promptList three jobs you'd consider pursuing if money didn't matter.View all responses I already posted an answer to this prompt; however, the essence of the question stuck with me after I left the computer: if money didn't matter. My original post focused on my own work life, settling on a self-congratulatory, "I would … Continue reading Work-Life: A Do-Over Post

Money Matters?

September 29, 2023 ~ James ~ 1 Comment

List three jobs you'd consider pursuing if money didn't matter. Money has never been the goal of my work life. Sure, I wanted enough to live and provide for the significant people in my life. I currently do the same work I have done for just shy of 38 years. The work I chose and … Continue reading Money Matters?

Unsought, What I Need Arises

September 28, 2023 ~ James ~ 1 Comment

The truth in this startles once again: Unsought, what I need arises.Unbidden, this moment comes. Each new moment arising in my life offer to teach me something. Sometimes it seems as if the Universe is saying almost imperceptibly, “Here I am.” The Sugar Maple waves.Then stilling, she becomes my meditation guide. I watch the Sugar … Continue reading Unsought, What I Need Arises

Returning to Thanks

September 27, 2023September 27, 2023 ~ James ~ 3 Comments

Some mornings- like today!- I cannot get aligned or grounded in my morning practice. My mind is wandering everywhere even as I sit my meditation/centering prayer. I cannot “draw” or release myself back to the moment. I let go and let go and let go and let go. I may rationalize that this is building … Continue reading Returning to Thanks

More Walks with Intent

September 26, 2023 ~ James ~ 4 Comments

What could you do more of? For ten years of my life leading up to the pandemic, I walked daily between three and five miles. There is so much to experience on a walk. The world slows down and flowers come into focus. Birds become more than sounds from the foliage with fleeting glimpses of … Continue reading More Walks with Intent

Pleasing Everyone…

September 25, 2023September 25, 2023 ~ James ~ 2 Comments

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? Early in my work life, I received this piece of advice: Give up on trying to please everyone; that is not your job. Besides, nothing you do will please everyone. Like most advice, it is easy to say and challenging to implement! My life has been … Continue reading Pleasing Everyone…

Love. Relationality. Connection.

September 24, 2023 ~ James ~ 4 Comments

What things give you energy? I find that every moment is ripe with energy. I am energy, concentrated here and now. To be in the moment, fully and completely, is to receive the energy that flows there. These are some of the times when I receive energy: When I am really with a friend in … Continue reading Love. Relationality. Connection.

Autumnal Equinox.

September 23, 2023September 23, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

The sun is passing directly over the equator today. The length of the day will be roughly equal in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. In the North we are passing out of summer into fall and winter. In the South, it is passing from winter to spring and summer. Nature gives me pause in its … Continue reading Autumnal Equinox.

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  • Inhabiting Place: Learning to Be Here
  • Inhabiting Rest
  • Inhabiting Work: Letting the Inner Life Grow Hands
  • Inhabiting Relationship
  • Inhabiting Grief: Loving What We Cannot Keep
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You are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are.

James Henry

Inhabiting Wonder - Infinitely Precious

What happens when we simply look, without naming what we see? In this episode of the Infinitely Precious podcast, James Henry continues the Inhabiting series with a reflection on inhabiting wonder. Wonder is the sense of awe that arrives before we name, explain, or capture an experience.From a night sky with no light pollution to a pine tree outside his window, James explores how the instinct to name things can make us feel we’ve finished seeing them. He asks what it would be like to sit with the Mona Lisa, a sunset, or a morning rock from the garden without reaching for a label. He also asks why we so often photograph a moment instead of being in it.James draws on Richard Rohr’s insight that mystery is not unknowable but infinitely knowable. He tells the story of a summer walk in the woods, where he realized that the cacophony of lawnmowers, birdsong, a chirping squirrel, and his own footsteps was a unique, irreplaceable, unrepeatable moment. He also returns to the Japanese art of kintsugi, whose golden repairs still fill him with wonder, and to Jesus’s invitation to become like children.This episode is for anyone seeking a contemplative spiritual practice of presence, attention, and awe. It is especially for those who feel their days have become a backdrop, and who want the ordinary to feel strange and alive again. It closes with a simple invitation: spend a few moments with one ordinary thing as though it were your first time.Remember, you are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are.In This EpisodeWhy wonder happens before we name, describe, or explain what we encounterHow the instinct to name things can make us feel we’ve “finished” seeing themThe Portuguese word for looking (rooted in the word for “eye”) and what it means to simply lookWhat Jesus may have meant by becoming like the least of these children: the ability to be in aweWhy taking a photo, or a selfie, can keep us from the experience we’re trying to preserveHow wonder restores the ordinary and makes familiar things alive againRichard Rohr’s teaching that mystery is not unknowable but infinitely knowableA woodland-walk story: a unique, irreplaceable, unrepeatable moment of soundKintsugi as a picture of wonder, forgiveness, and being changed by repairA simple practice: spend a few moments with one ordinary thing as if for the first timeHow to support the Infinitely Precious podcast through the donation link on the website ★ Support this podcast ★
  1. Inhabiting Wonder 14:40
  2. Inhabiting Place 13:41
  3. Inhabiting Rest 15:31
  4. Inhabiting Work 14:34
  5. Inhabiting Relationship 15:49
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