Safely to Arrive at Home
Go in Peace - Sam Baker
Go in peace, go in kindness
Go in love, go in faith
Leave the day, the day behind us
Day is done, go in grace
Let us go into the dark
Not afraid, not alone
Let us hope by some good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Let us hope by some good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
When we connect mind and body in the present moment, it can feel like coming home, whether it’s for an extended Body Scan meditation, or when we first take a seat on our cushion and collect ourselves around our breath, or even when we just pay attention to our present moment experience as we move about our day. Science has shown that we are at our happiest when mind and body are connected. During that time when we are paying attention in the present moment to our embodied experience we are not fighting what is, grasping at what may be, or wishing to change what has been. We just are, and in those moments, we can feel whole and complete. But we must pay attention.
American folk singer-songwriter Sam Baker (who starts his day with meditation) has an exceptional story, and has had to learn to be at home in his body. On a trip to Peru he was severely wounded when a bomb went off in the luggage rack above his head on a train. At that time, he was a white water rafting guide. In the years since, he has become an acclaimed musician - even though the explosion left him deaf in one ear, nearly deaf in the other, with constant loud ringing in his ears and a damaged hand, on top of the effects of the 17 reconstructive surgeries he endured afterward. Despite all of that, he talks of everything being perfect right now. "By perfect I mean whole and complete, all you need available to you at this very moment.”
If you’re interested in hearing Sam Baker sing Go in Peace, read a transcript of an interview with him, or listen to Terry Gross interview him on Fresh Air, please click on the links below.
Recording of Go in Peace by Sam Baker
Interview (brief transcript) with Sam Baker by Wanda Waterman
Interview (full length radio by Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air
In the meantime, we hope that you can join us as we “arrive at home” in our bodies this week.
CMP survives on donations. All of our weekly sessions are free and open to the public, but donations are essential to our sustainability. Checks, cash and credit cards are accepted and donations are tax deductible.
Stay up-to-date on all CMP news and happenings by following us on Facebook and Instagram! And in Meetup and on Insight Timer.
May all beings everywhere, without exception, safely arrive at home.
CMP is a licensed charity in the state of CT with 501c3 nonprofit status! Checks can be given to facilitators at our weekly sits or mailed to Community Mindfulness Project; P.O. Box 1713, New Canaan, CT 06840.
(Photo "The Whole World" by Sam Baker, used by permission of the artist. Thank you, Sam, for the permission, and all the beauty you bring to the world!)