One, baking bread is a new hobby. Yup, I’m a bread lover. Particularly of this kind, quite crusty on the outside, and quite chewy on the inside. It’s a new shape each time. Takes me back to memories of my Granny Fern, known in part for her bread and baking.
The recipe is simple. 3 cups flour. 1 teaspoon salt. 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast. 1.5 cups water. Mix it all together. Cover it for 12-18 hours.
The waiting is part of the fun. The smell of the rising bread fills the house. I let mine rise over night so that I can bake it in the morning. I heat the baking bowl at 475 degrees. I turn the dough on the floured counter to reshape it to a ball. I put it in the hot baking bowl. I bake it 30 minutes with lid on. Then 15 minutes with the lid removed.
Voila.
Two, I love the baking bowl. It comes from local potter Joe Bennion in Spring City. Of course, earthy. Comes from his hands. I have a few of his items, collected over the years, in my cupboards. Mugs, soup bowls, plates, a few baking dishes, tumblers, shot glasses.
Three, I love this line about poetry and bread from the Chilean Poet, Pablo Neruda — I got it from my friend Katharine Weinmann’s recent post — Neruda says, “Poetry is an act of peace. Peace goes into the making of a poet as flour goes into the making of bread.” Yup, I’m a poetry lover. With good crust. With chewy center.
Four, a poem. I included this one in Most Mornings. It’s called, In Clarity. I wrote it so as to remember and encourage a freed heart, a peaceful heart. Today I connect it to the simplicity of bread.
In Clarity
I wish departure most mornings.
From all the imposed noise that distorts my inner.
I wish to remain most mornings.
In clarity of freed heart.
Here’s to the freed and peaceful heart of it for any of us, in the dough and in the words.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m a fan of clear and simple guidance. It’s a hunger in me to stay very much in my heart, and the heart, of things. It’s a hunger in me to practice clarity.
There’s the Zen Stew that I wrote of recently… Everything is connected. Everything changes. Pay attention.
There’s the words that my friend Charles LaFond encouraged… Be as kind of a person as you can be. Be as good of a person as you can be. Make good choices for the next 15 minutes.
And then there this one too, on the t-shirts above, received as gifts from Lisa Hess… Show up. Don’t know why. Do your best.
A bow to Lisa. And many smiles to her appreciation of such clarity and simplicity. I find joy in it. And super-useful guidance. And, I find some of my warriorship in such guidance. In me it sounds a bit like, “never mind all of that other stuff, just start here, and then the next will show up.”
Feels like a great game plan today, as I sort through life and work today, in joy and purpose.
A travel day today, returning me to snow in Utah. A returning day today, washing clothes, checking in with neighbors, paying bills, catching up to regular life things, yet at a slowed and buoyed pace.
Mostly enjoying reflections — mine and others, from this gathering of Circle. It continues to move me how learning can be so available, so amplified, in a container. As Quanita and I shared, there is an “imprinting” that moves the heart.
And others who participated and our sharing their travels.
Next Immersion — September 20-24, 2023.
Gifts of Circle
asd Gifts of Circle is 30 short essays divided into 4 sections: 1) Circle's Bigger Purpose, 2) Circle's Practice, 3) Circle's First Requirements, and 4) Circle's Possibility for Men. From the Introduction: "Circle is what I turn to in the most comprehensive stories I know -- the stories of human beings trying to be kind and aware together, trying to make a difference in varied causes for which we need to go well together. Circle is also what I turn to in the most immediate needs that live right in front of me and in front of most of us -- sharing dreams and difficulties, exploring conflicts and coherences. Circle is what I turn to. Circle is what turns us to each other."
Question Cards is an accompanying tool to Gifts of Circle. Each card (34) offers a quote from the corresponding chapter in the book, followed by sample questions to grow your Circle hosting skills and to create connection, courage, and compassionate action among groups you host in Circle.
This will close in 60 seconds
In My Nature
asd
In My Nature is a collection of 10 poems. From A Note of Beginning: "This collection of poems arises from the many conversations I've been having about nature. Nature as guide. Nature as wild. Nature as organized. I remain a human being that so appreciates a curious nature in people. That so appreciates questions that pick fruit from inner being, that gather insights and intuitions to a basket, and then brings the to table to be enjoyed and shared over the next week."
This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes) quotes a few favorite passages from poems in In My Nature. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.
This will close in 60 seconds
Most Mornings + Note Cards
asd Most Mornings is a collection of 37 poems. I loved writing them. From the introduction: "This collection of poems comes from some of my sense-making that so often happens in the morning, nurtured by overnight sleep. The poems sample practices. They sample learnings. They sample insights and discoveries. They sample dilemmas and concerns."
This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes) quotes a few favorite passages from poems in Most Mornings. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.
