The Quiet - A Christmas Meditation

When you fall on your knees,

when the weary world weighs upon your shoulders,

when your journey seems crooked and winding and never-ending,

when you knock on the door and are turned away,

When Christmas has lost its magic,

when you cannot move one more step,

or bear one more thing,

Crawl.

Crawl and curl up in the soft hay of a manger.

Hold your heavy heart.

Let your heart open.

Feel the warmth of Nature's breath,

Hear the quiet stillness,

And breathe.

Then you will see a small, flickering light in the distance,

A star perhaps, or a candle.

Feel the tiny tinge of Hope,

Hear the wind whispering,

Grace.

Peace.

Love.

Know the gentle touch of love.

You are loved.

You are Love.

Comments

Tomorrow We Will Make Coffee

We are all searching for guarantees. The guarantee on shipping from our website order, the guarantee on the newly-purchased mattress, the guarantee that when we wake up the electricity will still be on, the guarantee that the weather will get nicer soon, the guarantee that my car will still be parked where I left when I get back, the guarantee of a healthy pregnancy, the guarantee of an easy child. All the things we expect at the beginning of the day to go our way, the meeting, the conference call, the sales pitch, the ruling, the game, the score. I see people searching for schools, looking for a guarantee that the choices they make, the selection of this school over that school, will guarantee that their child will thrive, be successful, and maybe happy. They want the guarantee. They expect it when they walk in, as if they were going to a car wash, that the car will be perfectly cleaned when it comes out the other end. As if kicking the tires will gu...

What Is Grief?

What is grief? It is standing in the shower and you are suddenly crying and then you are sobbing. And you barely thought about it in the two days since you heard your Uncle Rich passed. You thought about your dad and your cousins and your aunt and how sad they must be and you checked in on your dad. "I'm so so sorry." And you went to work and you did what you had to do. And now you are ready for another day and you are thinking of all the things and then you are crying and you are little again and vulnerable and your heart hurts. And you remember everyone. Medford Lakes and a swimming pool and laughing so hard and dancing around a Christmas tree and fireworks by the lake at night. And you can see his face and all their faces smiling Aunts and uncles and cousins and brothers who aren't here. And you remember his voice, deep and laughing, and you remember his kindness and his advice. "Are you taking vitamin C, Joannie?" You see all their faces and you mis...

Nesting

This morning I am creating a nest. I am building it from scratch with spare parts that have been left around from another owner. We are vacationing in a house on a lake near Grandfathers, since that currently has no running water. We love it up here. It is a place that is carved in our hearts and our stories. Since this is a foreign house, I am trying to make it feel like home. We have been here for 2 days and now I see the needs and small fixes I can do to make things more ‘ours’. I have brewed coffee and put away the dishes from last night. I have placed a small rug by the door to catch our shoes that are caked in pine needles and fallen beech leaves and sand from the beach. I have moved the ottoman away from the chair it belongs to so that we have an extra seat. We have more people than it sits. Charlie made a chair with two pillows and leaned them against the end table. We are all working to build the nest. I am using pillows and blankets which I found in an upstairs clo...

the mud

Search This Blog