“Love Dogs” by Rumi. Translated by Coleman Barks One night a man was crying, “Al

“Love Dogs” by Rumi. Translated by Coleman Barks One night a man was crying, “Allah, Allah!” His lips grew sweet with the praising, until a cynic said, “So! I have heard you calling out, but have you ever gotten any response?” The man had no answer for that. He quit praying and fell into a confused sleep. He dreamed he saw Khidr, the guide of souls, in a thick, green foliage, “Why did you stop praising?” “Because I’ve never heard anything back.” “This longing you express is the return message.” The grief you cry out from draws you toward union. Your pure sadness that wants help is the secret cup. Listen to the moan of a dog for its master. That whining is the connection. There are love dogs no one knows the names of. Give your life to be one of them Overview of Assignment This will be the third journal/creative project. Again, access a place out-of-doors that is surrounded more by natural environments than human-made ones. Perhaps it will be the same place each time. Let it be a place that you feel safe and comforted in and that provides a more open vulnerable place within yourself. These “journal entries” can be worded through personal reflections, a poem/song or wordless through some creative medium that came through your experience out on the land. If you choose to do an artistic venture like working with clay or paints, to express your experience, please upload pictures of your creation or if this feels too vulnerable write about the process of what you created. Please listen Living on Earths recent segment titled The IPCC’s Atlas of Human Suffering https://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=22-P13-00009&segmentID=4Links to an external site. Journal Entry/Creative Project #3 Honoring our pain for the World Make time in nature to contemplate, perhaps less rationally or defensively even, to the most recent readings, podcasts etc. related to human caused climate disruption and the possibility of large scale societal collapse. As you enter into this conversation with the natural world please listen for a response coming back to these three questions: 1.)”What breaks my heart when hearing of ongoing species loss, habitat destruction and possible large scale societal collapse? 2.)What am I most afraid of when reflecting on all of this? 3.) If you could speak to the generations yet to come, grandchildren or great grandchildren even, what might you want to them to know? Then write about or create something out of what comes from this emotional place.