Bright Sadness
What does the image of a “bright sadness” suggest to you. What thoughts and impressions are conjured by these terms? Free write for 5-15 minutes.
What Do You See?
Spiritual practices attune our attention to God in the ordinary. Pat Schneider, says writing opens us to mystery. In her poem “The Patience of Ordinary Things,” she describes “how the cup holds the tea” and “how clothes wait respectfully in the closet”(http://patschneider.com/pat/the-patience-of-ordinary-things/). Find something in your immediate environment, look at it, and write a detailed description of it using as many of your senses as you can. What do you see? If you can touch or pick up the object, how does it feel? Is there sound, smell, or taste associated with the object? (Maybe you have coffee in the cup you are contemplating.)
Write A Letter to God
Write a short letter to God. What’s on your mind right now? Write down whatever comes to you, even if it is “Dear God, I don’t know what to say.” Even with such a beginning, choose to stay in that place for a while, and await what comes next. Write for about 10-15 minutes.