Podcast: Download (1.1MB)

Subscribe: More

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, Lao Tzu said in the Tao. But a better translation of this familiar passage is to say the journey begins beneath our feet—not in the first step but in the stillness that precedes it, in the place where we stand before we move, in the very ground of our being.

So we take off our shoes, standing on the holy ground of this earth. We fold our hands, pausing their habit of doing, doing, doing. And when we bow our heads, we can begin to listen for a story larger than our own, waiting first for a holy word, a sacred connection and understanding in which to root our lives and our work for peace and justice. May our listening be our prayer. May our prayer be our deep listening.

From the chapter “Prayer as Listening” in Karen Hering’s book Writing to Wake the Soul: Opening the Sacred Conversation Within, published by Beyond Words Publishing in 2013.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Rev. Karen Hering

Consulting Literary Minister at Unity Church-Unitaian, St. Paul, Minnesota

“Nothing resonates as deeply as a single word drawn from our experience to speak our truth boldly in the language of our lives,” says author Karen Hering. Her book Writing to Wake the Soul: Opening the Sacred Conversation Within (Atria Books of Simon & Schuster/Beyond Words Press) invites writers and non-writers alike to mine their lives for the deeper meanings that can be found there. Writing to Wake the Soul received a 2014 Silver Nautilus Award recognizing “literary contributions to spiritual growth, conscious living, ... responsible leadership and positive social change.” Visit: www.karenhering.com.

Latest posts by Rev. Karen Hering (see all)

• Imagining a Way - September 1, 2020
• Welcoming What We Do Not Want - February 1, 2016
• Where it Starts - January 1, 2014