Have you ever felt the gift of someone’s simple presence? Were words necessary? Were actions needed?
I’ve become curious about the gift of presence – where we experience it and where it emerges in moments which brings impact, which causes us to slow down, which causes an expansion within.
I’m delighted to announce I am pulling together another simple book of prayers, poems and reflections in the series of Love Breathes with Me. I had always seen this as a four-fold series, and it is time for the third book. It is now at Friesen Publications and ready for the editing process. In this particular book, I’ve asked a few other voices to join me, and so you will also hear other sounds and textures from those who added their expression. I’m looking forward to sharing this in 2026.
The poems and prayers from my own life have often emerged from simple presence – the spaciousness of stillness where awareness emerges, wisdom arises, and prayer is a reality beyond any language.
Recently I sat with my father, who is in a tender time of frail health at the age of 94. We spoke for a few moments, but he slipped into quiet and lay down. I covered him with a blanket and sat beside him, just breathing. As I wrote these words just now, I reflected on the title of this series, Love Breathes with Me. Perhaps, in this recent moment with my father, I experienced the profound gift of breathing with another – and how palpable it became that love was there.
After about 45 minutes, my father stirred … and gently looked at me and shared these words, “I feel your presence. I’m resting in your presence.” Tears fell down my cheeks as he spoke these words. I realized the gift of stillness, of love, that is felt – so subtly, but powerfully when we find the essence of soul and can simply breathe with another.
In closing – here are a few words from this upcoming book, Love Breathes with Me III (released in summer of 2026):
I come, welcoming the sacredness of this silence.
Welcoming the love infused in this silence.
Welcoming the vitality singing within this silence.
I come, opening my hands.
Opening my heart.
Opening my being.
May this silence root me.
May this silence guide me.
May this silence saturate me.
May the Silence of Love be in my eyes, my hands, my voice.
May the Silence of Love be in my action, my decisions, my presence.
May the Silence of Love be in my consciousness, my awareness, my essence.
Here is a song called Breathing Together, which holds the mystery of these words, recorded in 2011.
