Thin Spaces

Seeking the thin to live with astonishment

A pivotal lesson we learn from our Celtic friends is discerning thin places. They say that thin spaces hold only a veil through which, we see and experience God.

One does not have to come to Iona to discover thin places. That’s the gift. Thin places are all around us— if we have the eyes and heart to see.

My poem “Thin Spaces,” extends the station to see more things in less thick spaces in order to live with astonishing sighs and eyes that weep because of beauty.

Once in Kenya, a small band of Maasai warriors came running towards me wearing beautiful red flowing robes against their black skin. They wore necklaces of silver that caught the light in their every graceful stride.

I said to one of the warriors, pointing to his necklace, “That ( meaning his necklace) is beautiful!” He pointed to his heart and said firmly. “I am beauty.”

He then gave me his necklace.

He was for me, a thin space.

In the thin space, we can see God.

Every blessing from Iona!

Steve