Dear Friends, Dharma Gaia is closed for the Residential Reflection and Rest period from Friday September 6 until Monday September 23.

We offer this Mary Oliver poem for you to reflect on as the season turns

The Messenger ~ a poem by Mary Oliver

My work is loving the world.

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —

equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?

Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me

keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be

astonished.

The phoebe, the delphinium.

The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.

Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over, how it is

that we live forever

Dear friends,

During this reflection and rest time for Dharma Gaia. Email will be checked intermittently by our volunteer support..We will not be accepting guests during this period. The Final Semester and our Spring programme will commence on the 23rd of September, and we look forward to you joining us for renewal during the new term.