Thunder's Applause

reflections from bermuda #2

The thunder sounds like applause rippling across the gray Bermudian sky. Clapping for us here at Paget Parish—
away from the rush of the normal day. Read. Rest. Write. Those are the words I heard this morning in my quiet time. Today I have slept the sleep of the drugged—washed over by the cool sea breeze until the blowing rain prohibited leaving the balcony door open.

Lines are imprinted on my face like that of a sleeping child awakened too soon from an afternoon slumber. The skies continue to rumble and soon my stomach will join in for I have slept away half of the day and it is now well past lunchtime. Read. Rest. Write. Today it is heaven.

At present I do not mind that the sky has gone gray providing cover from the brilliant sun. It is so quiet; even the birds have retreated for a while. I imagine their feathers full and heavy from the summer rain. Maybe they, too, are napping on this glorious overcast day.

If it stays this way for the week will I still call it glorious? I hear the applause of the sky again. The majesty of God. The rumbling of the universe. I need rest. My stack of books awaits me and my computer sits nearby ready to transcribe my handwritten notes. Read. Rest. Write. Rejuvenate.

I am called to marry the week of holy work before with a week of wonder at this paradise around me. The yin and the yang. Both were entered into without concern for clock or schedules. Small boundaries to keep things in check: hunger, exhaustion, laughter, overload. The cycle of day and night.

It is magic when we can connect to our natural cycle. Today mine is read, rest, write. The thunder sounds like applause confirming my choice. Amen.

7/24/07

Simple Pure Stunning

reflections from bermuda #1
In the center of the lush landscape perches a magnificent yellow-
breasted bird. Simple. Pure. Stunning. It is me. Simple. Pure. Stunning. Quiet and still. Allowing space for God. Emmanuel. Always—Simple. Pure. Stunning. Quiet. Still. Alive. Participating in my own life. Gentle as an ocean breeze. Powerful as a summer squall. Tears and joy. Solitude and laughter. Present to what I need.

Right now there are no others around me. Only the energy of the universe. Breath. Air. Water. Flight. Heat. Subtle. Simple. Pure. Even when “nothing” is going on, the world is alive. Can I be present to my own life? Can I be the elegant swallow ready to take flight? The bird at the center of my landscape?

Everything radiates out from me. Concentric circles of energy—floating out to one another. Intersecting and colliding. Uniting and meshing. Passing through. Ripples of life touching each other. Tide—flowing and ebbing. Exposing the rocks and sand. Filling the deep.

I am the center of my own lush garden. How will I choose to see what is around me? Will I sing with joy? Sob with sorrow? Ache with pain? Melt from heat? Weep? Laugh? Sing? Dance? Breathe?

Today breath feels important. Breath. Yahweh. Emmanuel. Simple. Pure. Stunning.

photo by bill

Lists

The last few days I have woken up with lists running through my head. Why lists? Why not poetry or even prose? We live by lists. Do this. Do that. You are not successful if you don’t get things done. What defines “things”? What defines “success”?

Slowly this morning my list shifted away from ‘to do’s’ and toward ‘must do’s’. Watching a beautiful sunset. Listening to my dog breathe. Breathing myself. Stopping to smell the roses. Moving my body freely not always with intention or purpose. Listening to God. Prayer. Constant, ongoing, everlasting prayer in the way I live—the way I simply be.

Emerging. Moving outward. Why do we hide? Why do we hold back? Sunrise Sister posed the question “Why do we always cry at the happy moments?” Tears are a release of emotion. We hold too much inside and our hearts are created to live not hold back. Tears are sacred and beautiful. They are meant to be used. They wash away sorrow and make room for peace, joy and happiness.

To pursue happiness, we find ways to allow space and make room for it to find us. And so, we write our lists and mark them off—not to be successful in the worldly sense—not to show how much we have accomplished, but to make space for joy and living.

Sure there is still joy in completion of a task, a pat on the back, a line through a job well done, but for what am I making space? Hopefully, not more lists! So, I ponder this question today: What do I really have to do? Simply speaking, the list is quite short.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Luke 10:27

So, what’s on your list today?

image from here

Unconditional Love

Often we confuse unconditional love with unconditional acceptance. Nowhere is this more profoundly seen than in relationship whether it be our relationship with God, ourselves or others. The parent/child relationship is a powerful example . Are we not often like naughty children who treat each other poorly, test boundaries and push hard to see if our parent will still love us no matter what we do? We test the boundaries of love to see if acceptance will still follow. Henri Nouwen says, “It is important for us to hold on to the truth that God never gives up loving us even when God is saddened by what we do.” No matter how hard we push God is there for us loving without condition.

Being the parent of two strong-willed teenagers brings this truth to light daily for me. Do I love my children? Absolutely! Do I love and accept their choices and behaviors? Not always! However, I can accept (when thinking clearly ☺)that the choices are theirs to make just as we have free will to choose our own path.

Does God love us without condition? You bet! And, I am certain there is sadness when I forget the beautiful core of my being and respond to the world in an unlovely manner. Whether I recognize it in the moment, the sadness is carried within me for I am created to respond out of love rather than fear and hatred. The key is finding the resonance between our actions and our soul. Scripture gives us the recipe.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Luke 10:27

I return again and again to this passage. It is simple. It is pure. It is truth. It is the key to unconditional love. I will share more on this “key” in subsequent posts.

For today, spread a little love with others and with yourself…preferably without condition ☺.

madonna image from here

Hugs

What speaks to unconditional love better than a big, wonderful, unabashed hug??

Today I would like to share a couple of my favorite hug messages. The first is an excerpt from a newly received book, Just Like Heaven. (It was a long-distance "hug" from Tinman #1).

So this is heaven, thought Mooch the cat.

Then Mooch came upon a big dog chained in a yard.

The big dog growled (as unloved dogs often do)

and let out a BIG BARK.

In the past, Mooch would have gone all fuzzy with fear and run away.

But here and now, Mooch wondered, What would you do in heaven?

So he opened his arms and said...

"Hug Time!"

And they did.

Wow, thought Mooch. What a great place.

Isn't it nice when we experience a little heaven here on earth? I hope you will experience it a little more with my next favorite hug message.

Free Hugs. Click here.

Sending hugs & unconditional love your way this blessed summer day!