I try to balance a life of contemplative prayer with a deep participation in the needs of the world, and I know that many Good Samaritan members also feel drawn both ways. While they appear to be opposite poles of human interest, I actually see them as intertwined. I don't think one happens without the other.

I have listened to two podcasts recently that touched me deeply and that fed these two sides of my soul. Let's call them podcasts for peace! Both of them were from Krista Tippett's radio and podcast: On Being. One was her January 6 show titled, "Remembering Desmond Tutu," in which she replayed parts of an interview done just before his retirement, while he was on retreat in the United States. Here's the web page link, or you can subscribe to the OnBeing Podcast in your podcast player. 

The other podcast absolutely captivated me. Krista Tippett interviewed a man named Gordon Hempton, who finds the most noiseless places he can in the world and records the sounds--the sounds of silence, he calls them. He considered himself spiritual but not religious (after growing up in a military family that worshipped at Episcopal churches). But I'm telling you--listening to the sounds played during this podcast were a doorway to the divine for me. Here's her interview with Gordon Hempton.

Tags: peace