Stroll for Your Soul May 17th

Today we begin a new series of inspirational messages, adapted from a resource by www.prayerbench.ca.  Three times a week (Tues- Thurs) I will send you a short reflection.  The theme of all the reflections will be 'Weather'.

We can’t avoid weather. It dictates our behaviours and what we can and can’t do.  It influences our moods. It disrupts our lives. It is part of every day. 
As we note an aspect of weather each Stroll day, we use it as a lens or a metaphor to reflect on our journey with the Divine. We hope our attention to the weather as we stroll or look out our windows, deepens our awareness of the Divine atmosphere all around and in all things. 

Weather Report: What’s the Temperature Today?

Today’s Weather 
I don’t know about you but checking the weather app for the temperature outside is part of my morning routine. Will it be spring-like enough today to shed a layer of winter clothes? When is the high of the day for the warmest stroll?

We have a trinity of people to thank for bringing us the ability to know the high’s and low’s of the day and the “feels like” temperature.

Meet Galileo. He is credited with inventing the thermometer in the 1590’s.

Meet the German scientist, Gabriel Fahrenheit, the first person to use mercury in thermometers and gave his name to the Fahrenheit scale for measuring temperatures. 

Meet Anders Celsius, a Swedish astronomer who developed the simpler scale that is used by scientists and most countries. He made the freezing point of water at 0 degrees and the boiling point at 100 degrees. 

Weather with You
Pause indoors to check the temperature outside. Perhaps you have an app or a weather thermometer or you just stick your head out the door to make a guess. Make a silent prayer of thanks for all who bring you that number that makes sense of the temperature out there.  
 
As you begin your Stroll today, or sit in your window, allow yourself to sense the temperature of the day. Is the sun warm upon your face? Is it a cold wet day? 

Welcome the sensations and allow them to ground you in the present moment. You are here now, in this moment, in the weather of this day. So often we walk through the day with our heads in the future or ruminating on something that already happening. Be. Here. Now. 

Here is a scripture that might work as a mantra. Memorize the verse or sing it while you Stroll.  Make an intention to return to the verse during pauses in the day to ground yourself in praise, gratitude and presence. 

 “This is the day that God has made. 
 Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” - Psalm 118:24

You can sing along with this version. This is the Day.
​
Weather Blessing 
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His* hand.