Shining Spirit

I arrived on the hilltop with time to spare.  Sunset was still
half an hour away.  Plenty of time to set the camera
properly for what I knew was to be a glorious
desert  sunset.  Brilliant oranges, dancing shades of
yellow, glowing shafts of sunlight through dark,
angry storm clouds.  The perfect setting for a
memorable drama in the sky, the sun’s grand exit
with pageantry and pomp.

But I made the mistake of turning around and
looking, just for a moment, in the opposite direction
toward the mountain.  Behold, not a contest of
staggering colors, but a gracious gentleness,
a softness played out across the desert
floor and up the side of the mountain’s slopes
and undulations.  To the West was the stark
confrontation of color against color.  To the East,
a sacred simplicity of blending, a joining of
colors that produced not clash, but
concerted calm.  Respite.
An invitation to sit on a green bench,
watch the unfolding of a never again moment
and breathe in the fragrance of peace.

I did.
It was the better choice.

All things.  All.
Atoms to advanced algebra,
bits of this and bundles of that,
creatures to creation,
day to destiny.

Held together by
a mysterious consciousness,
an energy too small to be seen,
too cosmic to comprehend.

Today is a laboratory of
conscious connectedness
from which life will emerge,
the intentional dream of
an indescribable force.

So it was yesterday.
So it will be tomorrow.
So it is
in this moment as a word becomes wonder.

“In him all things hold together”
Colossians 1:17

I present a wonderful mystery.
How can that become this?
The perfect metaphor for spiritual transformation,
“new life.”

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation;
everything old has passed away; see, everything
has become new.”

In Christ, not a fan of Christ.
In Christ, not an admirer of Christ

I was presented a mystery in my own backyard.
That became this.
And with beautiful wings, she flew.
The Psalmist prayed:  “O, that I had wings like
a dove…”  I’d settle for a butterfly.
The beautiful mystery.

Roger and Sue Pierce are happy parents again!
Surprise!

Their child, pictured above, escapped from the chrysalis
this morning at approximately 7:30 a.m.
Mom and child are doing fine.
Dad is busy taking pictures.
Wonderful Day!

Maybe one of these fits you today.
Today IS a good day for a good day, so let’s live today with
conscious gratitude.  I didn’t make it, nor you.  It is one
more opportunity  to bless and be blessed,
to broaden your mind, widen your awareness
of grace, deepen the roots of courage
and patience, grow your faith
in a consciousness of
Presence.

Inhale the gift.
This is a day made just for you.

I never pictured myself as a bird watcher.  At least not a binocular carrying member of the Audubon Society.  But there is something magnetic about these little creatures.  Eagles are majestic and Mockingbirds are wonderful singers, but this little clump of feathers is a showman extraordinaire.

He is an aerial acrobat, a fierce defender of his territory, and faster than a speeding bullet.  I’ve held more than one in my hand after he had mistaken a glass door for open flying space.  His needle-like beak was partly open and his tongue, no bigger than a piece of thread, dangled in the air as I held him in my palm.  He looked like he had just gotten in from a rough Saturday night, but a little drop of sugar water, a minute or two to catch his breath, and he was cleared for flight status again.  He fluffed his gray feathers, gave me a wink, and took off like a miniature Atlas rocket.

I know he appreciated the medical attention because often when I was puttering in the backyard, I would hear that familiar buzzing just over my right shoulder, and there he was, stopping by for a visit.

It’s really nice to have friends, isn’t it.  I’m thankful for mine.  I hope you are for yours.

About a week ago, during a particularly heavy time…masks and mean spirits and
pandemic death counts, etc…I wondered to myself: Is God really in the
mix of all this as a presence?  From then until now, I received the
answers depicted in the collage above.  I just opened the coffee
bag this morning, by the way.  The three words in the little
blue line are:  Brighter Days Ahead.  I am grateful for
signs of Presence in the midst of my
faltering faith.

Night arrives on the coat-tails of another 102 degree day.
It’s not that I’m ungrateful, God.  Just hot.  And tired.
In fact, I’m tired of being tired.  It’s tough to keep spirits
up when everything seems to be falling down.

I do, however, feel very blessed by my virtual friends.  It seems
like so long ago when I saw them as whole people, not half people
projected on a screen.  My waist-up friends are remarkable in
their perseverance and their abilities to “unmute” at just the
right moment and share themselves as blessings.  They are very
special.

I have decided, Generous One, that this exile set upon the earth
carries with it valuable lessons for life.  I pray tonight for the
patience to perceive those lessons and the wisdom to utilize
them in positive ways for the benefit of my friends and neighbors
and the strangers who pass my way.

I suspect that tomorrow will be, for the most part, very similar to
this day that is now disappearing.  And that, in itself, is a lesson
to be learned.  Similar or not, I am grateful for days that invite
reflection and re-examination of what it means to be a human
being in a troubled time, and, likewise, a probing of deeper
dimensions of faith and trust.  I rest tonight convinced that the
Path of Jesus, His Way, always runs through the shadows of
disruption and imbalance, but also that the Way always leads
to light and Light.  I shall sleep tonight thankfully embraced
by your Love.

May it be so.

It happens when I least expect it.  Turn a corner and there
You are.  Say goodbye to a friend and then realize that I have
been in the presence of Presence.  Today I do not plan to look
for You, that way You can surprise me.  But I will meet You
halfway…I will be attentive to life around me.  I will try
to see with my soul and hear with my heart, and in faith I
know that somewhere along the path, I will become aware
of Awe.  And there we are.

May this day bring us invitations to love kindness, do justice, and
walk as humble followers of the Light.  May we be bold enough to
bathe in Living Water, wise enough to talk with the earth of her
beauty and her pain, and humble enough to stand in the
revealing light of your love.
May peace abide in my heart and bless everyone I meet.
May it be so.

As the sun find its way beyond the western mountains
and the arrival of night brings quiet closure to this day,
I pray that my efforts have not been in vain
and that those efforts were always made in a
spirit of justice and human concern.
May I find rest, confident that the Presence is
with me in the darkness and will wake me to the new day.
And may all creatures be in peace.
To the Source of Life, Creator and Sustainer,
I lift my song of gratitude and join
my voice with all living things:
Glory to God in the highest and on earth
peace and goodwill.
May it be so.