Advice from a Canyon..or a Vocation Director

Have you ever seen the t-shirts, books or bookmarks bearing the slogan Advice from a ________ (fill in the blank with just about anything in nature)?  They were created by a gentleman named Ilan Shamir who started the Your True Nature company that sells the 'Advice from Nature' products.  You can get advice from bats, blueberries, moose, and wood ducks just to name a few.

I was introduced to these clever slogans a few years back when my  vocation director mentor, Sr. Lupita, showed me some bookmarks she had collected when I was visiting our Tucson monastery.   I happened to run across one this past week that she had given me and this one said Advice from a CANYON.  Having just had the opportunity to hike in a couple of canyons while in Arizona, I took special note of it.

As I read through it, it struck me that if I changed a few words here and there, I could apply it to discernment.  So consider this Advice from a VOCATION DIRECTOR

Instead of Carve Out a Place for Yourself ...  I would say -
Carve out a Place for God

Instead of Aspire to New Plateaus ... I would say -
Aspire to Greater Love

Instead of Stand the Test of Time ...  I would say -
Stand the Test of Time - Discernment doesn't happen overnight

Instead of Don't Get Boxed In ... I would say -
Don't Get Boxed In by Discouraging Voices

Instead of Listen to the Voice of the Wind... I would say -
Listen to the Voice of the Spirit

Instead of It's OK to be a Little Off the Wall ...  Actually, I wouldn't change this one.  Most people think you are a little off the wall if you want to be a nun!  

Instead of Reach Deep... I would just add a couple of words here -
Reach Deep Inside your Soul to find the answers

If you need more advice than that, ask a blueberry or a moose and click here http://www.yourtruenature.com/bookmarks

sightings in the Tucson monastery

I arrived at our monastery in Tuscon, AZ 10 days ago to help host a Come and See weekend for interested discerners.   I am still here enjoying the sunshine and warm weather while I await other sisters from Missouri to fly in for a meeting we will be attending. Meetings have never been something I look forward to...perhaps loathe would be too strong a word...but I offer it all up for the coming of the Kingdom!

I've had ample time to wander around our lovely  monastery and take pictures of our lovely grounds and lovely sisters.  Many sisters have graciously allowed me to take their picture after a little hemming and hawing...after all, who really likes to get their picture taken?  If I'm not careful they will soon be turning and walking the other way when they see me approaching.

I thought I would share some of the sights to be found around our monastery.  Tucson is in the Sonoran Desert which is one of the prettier deserts of our world.  It is not endless sand dunes like the Sahara.  The famous Saguaro Cactus makes its home here.  Cactus do abound on our property but I want to share some 'color' I found in our courtyard.

There is a cool oasis of pansies in our courtyard that delight the eyes.  

Below is a great spot for meditation and lectio divina.

We also have a meditation garden outside of the monastery walls with
typical desert vegetation and a bubbling fountain.

And here are some cactus by our back door...we let God water these...

he does it better than we could.

Finally, one of the loveliest things about Tucson is that it is surrounded by 

mountains on 3 sides. So as I take my daily walk around the grounds I get glimpses

of the Catalina Mtns peering above the oleander bushes and the palo verde trees.   

One of my favorite verses from the Old Testament is from the prophet Hosea where God says, "I will lure her into the desert and speak to her heart."  

God doesn't have to twist my arm to get me to come to our Tucson monastery 

during the winter months!