Contemplative Life Style

EVENING HUSH

Gentle summer air – comfortable

not hot – colors tone down –

sunshine has gone – I hear

the final chirps of the birds in the trees.

Like a cat walking on freshly cut grass –

stillness descends on all –

no wind to disturb the calm.

It was a long day – too many chores –

aching feet – e-mails – telephone calls

decisions to be made.

Welcome relief to sit in the quiet!

I let it roll over my whole body –

deep sedative –

calm takes me over – even my

feet do not ache so much.

I look forward to this hour –

time for a visit.

Garden’s hush opens up

an abyss at my center – still point.

Someone touches me – mystery – otherness.

No words are spoken – silence

is the language of God –

silence - calm – hushed garden –

usher me into a presence –

presence of my Beloved.

Let me rest in this quiet –

visit – gift – that puts a beautiful

end to a hectic day.

Someone is with me – that is all that matters!

Robert Trabold

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CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE STYLE

Robert Trabold

           

            Since I am in now a stage of semi-retirement, space has opened up for me to build a more contemplative dimension into my life. I have had this element for many years becoming pronounced in my college years. Now however, with my schedule opening up and my time not so constricted by a work routine, I have attempted to build time and activities to allow me to enter more deeply into contemplative prayer. This new freedom has allowed me to meditate twice a day for twenty minutes each time. I have created a small corner of the house with a statue and pictures which give me a sense of peace to enter into a spirit of prayer. I play soft mystical music in the background helping me calm down. I have a large garden connected with my house and in the warm season, I meditate there. The quiet and beauty of the flowers help me focus on the presence of God within me. Luckily, I live not far away from the seashore at Jones Beach and I go there once or twice a week immersing myself in the silence and beauty of the ocean side allowing me to experience the presence of God. Important also is spiritual reading.  I try to keep my eyes open for good books on spirituality and contemplative prayer helping me understand better the dynamics of prayer and the intimacy that God calls me to and motivating me to be faithful with the spiritual routine despite the periods of dryness that inevitably come.

            I am active in the Centering Prayer Movement and the John Main Meditation Movement giving me opportunities to pray with others in group sessions and share with them. This is very encouraging because prayer has times of dryness and we wonder where we are going – back or forward. Talking with these movement people allows me to discuss contemplative spirituality and this sharing is an enriching experience. It deepens my understanding of the spiritual journey we are on. I write contemplative poetry and articles on spirituality. I have done extensive reading in mystical prayer and the writing of articles on this topic allows me to share this knowledge with the people who read the spiritual magazines and newsletters that print my material. The writing of contemplative poetry has helped me deepen my grasp of the prayer experience. Since much of my poetry is deals with the experience of the presence of the divine within me and in my encounter with it in nature, such as the garden and the seashore, the process of writing the poems helps me grasp better the encounter that I had with God. I try to put into words, images, symbols, etc, the closeness and intimacy I felt in prayer.

            Our contemplative prayer life should also encourage us to express itself in service to the people around us. For a good deal of my life, I have been a social activist participating in various social movements. I live in New York City and am the head of a local neighborhood organization which I founded to control overdevelopment and so keep the quality of life we would like to have. For many years, I have been active in various peace movements working to resolve and end wars around the globe and particularly right now in the Middle East. I go regularly to meetings at the Catholic Worker Movement in Manhattan discussing social issues and encouraging us all to be active in these. Meetings at the Catholic Worker are supportive because our contemporary world has many social and economic problems and at times, one feels like giving up. The whole world looks hopeless. At this point, I feel my contemplative prayer is very helpful; I get the strength and commitment to continue to be of service to the world and people in these social movements. God gives us the strength not to give up and to work for the greater justice and peace that Jesus promises to give us.

            Another dimension of my contemplative apostolate is the reading of my poetry at various events where poets are invited to present their writings. At times, I feel self conscious because not many people write and read contemplative poetry to a secular audience. I have found to my surprise that people do respond positively to my writing and perhaps encouraging them to grow in their quest for God. One good sign is that the literary journals of these local groups publish my poetry. Hopefully then, the people who read these journals will be touched by my writings.

            In conclusion, we contemplatives are on an inward journey to encounter God at our center and still point. I have tried to develop a discipline of silence in my life so as to find space for and grow in contemplative prayer. I am hopeful that it will give me the strength and perseverance to continue to be active in various social movements giving our world more justice and peace.

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