Ceremony Readings

Spell for reclaiming the moment.
by Adrienne Maree Brown

even now
we could be happy

even now

breathing in
filling our bodies with right now
from the dirt below us
from our toes to our knees
hips up our spines
shoulders to earlobes
the tip top of our heads to beyond
to the stars

breathing wide
across our wingspan
into that sacred and constant silk web
where we belong

even now
we can be present

even now

life is right here, still
a restlessness of mind: too much, too little
there's still someone you are longing to see
someone who startles you with simple pleasure
just because they exist
even now

Our Camp
by Robert Frost

In a haunt in the depths of the forest,
Enshrined by a lonely wood lake,
With the trees bending over its waters
Where moon-crested ripples break, --

Where far down the long arching vistas,
The moon-beams all peacefully lie,
And the night wind that steals through the tree-tops,
Moans softly and lingers by: --

Here, oft in the midnight above me,
I watch a lone, hemlock-wreathed star;
Till over the sands of the silence,
Wave music comes swelling afar.

My mind is born on by the singing,
A rudderless craft on the deep;
And 'tis left by the ebbing waters,
To strand on the sands of sleep.

Poems by Mary Oliver

I did think, let's go about this slowly.
This is important. This should take
some really deep thought. We should take
small thoughtful steps.

But, bless us, we didn't.

Don't Hesitate

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don't hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that's often the case.
Anyway, whatever it is, don't be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.