Barry Lopez, an American author, essayist, nature writer, and fiction writer died on Christmas day in 2020 at the age of 75.  Likened to Thoreau and John Muir, Lopez who in his youth considered becoming a Trappist monk, turned instead to writing, as he said, “in order to help.” Believing that natural landscapes are “capable of bestowing a grace upon those who pass through them,” Lopez wrote, “The effort of the imagination is to turn the boundary into a horizon.  

The boundary says, ‘Here and no further.’ The horizon says ‘Welcome.”

What a way to think about not only imagination but also contemplative practice:

• The still silent passing of time 
•  intentionally devoted to participating in Pure Presence
• in order that the obstructions and limitations of our lives might be transformed into invitations to integration on the road to fullness of life.   

Is this not one way to think about the landscape of contemplative practice with its accompanying grace?

As the new year continues to unfold with all its uncertainties and complexities may we visit the landscape of contemplative practice, frequently, alone and with others, so that personal and global boundaries might be transformed into horizons for the sake of the life of the world.

Blessings in this new year as we continue to sit together.

Margaret and Nancy