Well, we must all of been chosen to guest blog because we have somewhat recurrent insomnia! I, too, experience bouts every few months (sometimes more, sometimes less). I also try to pray during these times and am way impressed Eve that you get up and start working. Me, I think I get stuck inside the anxiety. Not always bad. There is a certain silence in the early morning that makes me understand why monastic communities for centuries got up at 3 or 4am to pray.


And, since there has been some poems posted, I thought I would share one of my favorite poems, written by the Welsh Anglican poet and priest, R.S. Thomas (1913-2000):

Via Negativa

Why no! I never thought other than
That God is that great absence
In our lives, the empty silence
Within, the place where we go
Seeking, not in hope to
Arrive or find. He keeps the interstices
In our knowledge, the darkness
Between stars. His are the echoes
We follow, the footprints he has just
Left. We put our hands in
His side hoping to find
It warm. We look at people
And places as though he had looked
At them, too; but miss the reflection.

Besides being a very haunting poem, it also reminds me that in the culture we live in, where God is mentioned at everything from a football game to finding a parking spot, it is worth it to remember that God is mystery that we all should feel a wee bit more humble talking about...except, of course, on this blog.=)

--Stephen