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| "Simple Gifts" copyright 2011, Caris Cerdwyn, all rights reserved |
We take much for granted. Here in upstate New York we don't think "earthquake" when we feel things start to shake. Our minds find all kinds of other reasons...that perhaps there is something wrong with us. We're having an episode of some sort. I was sitting and writing when things began to shake yesterday afternoon. The house began to move. I wondered if a particularly large truck had gone by...but it continued and I knew it was more than a truck. It stopped before I figured it out. And I went about my business.
The earth beneath our feet is something, someone we take for granted. A simple thing. A beloved thing. When simple stuff shifts and shakes, we'd better pay attention to the causes.
Finding the sacred in the ordinary is not a new concept. Brother Lawrence, a monk in the 16th century wrote a small book that has stood the test of time, still inspiring many seekers all these many years later. From scrubbing pots and pans to hanging up clothes to dry, one can sense within those simple, daily tasks, a presence there. One who is there in the doing and in the things themselves...trees and plants, pots, pans, children and the wild, uncontrollable way they can invade one's world. The friends with whom you share a ride, or the young woman at the checkout line in the grocery store. If I am feeling stressed and harried and "too busy" for such nonsense, I stop for a moment and breathe. I breathe deeply and become aware of the environment around me. It only takes a moment. And my perspective shifts.
When the earth shifts beneath your feet...and there are so many ways that can happen in the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions...remember to breathe, let yourself remember where you are. And know that you are never alone. It is an invitation to remember the sacred in these simple gifts, that need us to pay attention to caring for them.
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