Many people ask, “What are you
actually doing at Rolling Ridge, Trish?” One answer is that I smile and say I
don’t know. Another, I hope to see and help others see; to be and help others
be. This may sound a bit—or perhaps, very—silly. But here it is, here I am. And
God be praised.
Let me try some other words... What I try to do at Rolling Ridge is cultivate and live into a space whereby in the everyday, I am growing in awareness of God and opening myself to God, desiring to be available for God and to say yes to God.
So, I awaken in the morning, get out of bed and praise God. I draw the drapes open/praise God. I get the fire going/ praise God. I eat breakfast/praise God. I delight in the birds feeding/praise God. I pray with words and in silence, reflect on Scripture and other spiritual reading, journal/praise God. I do yoga, get dressed/praise God. I tidy up or do laundry/praise God. I go out for midday prayer with the community/ praise God. I roam around, draw and paint/praise God. I garden or haul wood or do paperwork or go to the market, chat with friends and strangers, take a long walk/praise God. I cook, eat, read, listen to music, tend the fire, get ready for bed/praise God.
This is just a simple sketch of one day in my life. If I was not at Rolling Ridge or was engaged in different work or had a family, there would be other things I’d mention. But no matter where I was, if I was living a contemplative life one thing would stay the same: praise God. A contemplative orientation to life is seeing and opening intimately to God in all things, in the present moment. It is setting my intention, no matter what I am doing, to being available and willing for God. To hold everything up to God’s Light and bathe everything in God’s Love.
You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
my servants whom I have chosen
To know and believe in me
and understand that it is I.
- Isaiah 43:10
Trish Stefanik is contemplative artist-in-residence at the Rolling Ridge Study Retreat Center in Harpers Ferry, WV. She was formerly on staff at the Servant Leadership School in Washington, DC and is a graduate of Shalem's Program to Lead Contemplative Prayer Groups and Retreats.