On a recent walk, I came upon this field I love. In it was something new… a tree branch with a pink ribbon tied on it, and the whole thing was stuck into the ground. The light at that moment was really exquisite, and I found it all quite captivating. Wonder what that means? Wonder who put that there? Wonder if it is marking something, naming sides, or what should be in and what should be out?
What it felt like to me was that it was a sign that asked, “What do you claim?” And as I looked at the pink ribbon, I decided right then and there that I would claim life for women fighting breast cancer. I put my face toward the sky, I took a deep breath, and I prayed, “Let there be healing. Let there be wholeness.”
And then I began walking again, and thinking some more. I thought about my friend, Janet, who recently passed into that beautiful light bearing her own wondrous light. She lived her life (and you should hear the emphasis on the word ‘lived’) while MS captured her arms and legs. I only knew Janet in the days she roamed about in her wheelchair. But she claimed life and joy and generosity. Oh, yes! Janet was generous of spirit and love. She lived with MS, but her claim was life. Her claim was inner joy and strength and abundant love.
As I approached my little house in the woods, I thought about how much it is home to me. And then I thought about houses just a few miles from me that were disabled due to the earthquake last August. I thought about how many people need a home, how many people suffer loss in so many different ways, and how at any moment, I could face a new loss or burden.
But what then came to my heart was this: My house is still here, and God is here. But if my house fell down, God would still be here. People I love have weathered depression and cancer and hardships, and God is here. And people I love have not weathered depression and cancer and hardship, and I have lost some of these beloveds… and God is still here.
We can claim land. We can claim our political party or branch of religion. We can claim family and friends. We can claim that we are of this profession or of such and such socio-economic status. We can claim to be healthy or ill. But the most life-giving claim is one that comes only from within. It is the affirmation that pours forth from the deepest source, the purest well. It was alive when time began and will continue to radiate in truth long after the earth wears away. It is the claim that we are each created in the Image of Love and that we are loved beyond understanding or merit. By this Divine heritage, we are always encircled and kindled by the peace of knowing all will be well… that indeed, all is well. Oh, don’t get me wrong! Our circumstances can be treacherous! We can and do grow lost from time to time. But below, deep below the turbulent waters is a steady stillness if we will but grow still ourselves.
There is a land within that waits for your marker. It’s calling to the people of this world like it has never called before. Shall we find our way to this field? Shall we let the light remind us that we are never alone, that we are beautiful, and that grace is eager to be recognized? Shall we dive deeply into the soil of our souls that we may live wide and open and free?
“Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to me...”
What it felt like to me was that it was a sign that asked, “What do you claim?” And as I looked at the pink ribbon, I decided right then and there that I would claim life for women fighting breast cancer. I put my face toward the sky, I took a deep breath, and I prayed, “Let there be healing. Let there be wholeness.”
And then I began walking again, and thinking some more. I thought about my friend, Janet, who recently passed into that beautiful light bearing her own wondrous light. She lived her life (and you should hear the emphasis on the word ‘lived’) while MS captured her arms and legs. I only knew Janet in the days she roamed about in her wheelchair. But she claimed life and joy and generosity. Oh, yes! Janet was generous of spirit and love. She lived with MS, but her claim was life. Her claim was inner joy and strength and abundant love.
As I approached my little house in the woods, I thought about how much it is home to me. And then I thought about houses just a few miles from me that were disabled due to the earthquake last August. I thought about how many people need a home, how many people suffer loss in so many different ways, and how at any moment, I could face a new loss or burden.
But what then came to my heart was this: My house is still here, and God is here. But if my house fell down, God would still be here. People I love have weathered depression and cancer and hardships, and God is here. And people I love have not weathered depression and cancer and hardship, and I have lost some of these beloveds… and God is still here.
We can claim land. We can claim our political party or branch of religion. We can claim family and friends. We can claim that we are of this profession or of such and such socio-economic status. We can claim to be healthy or ill. But the most life-giving claim is one that comes only from within. It is the affirmation that pours forth from the deepest source, the purest well. It was alive when time began and will continue to radiate in truth long after the earth wears away. It is the claim that we are each created in the Image of Love and that we are loved beyond understanding or merit. By this Divine heritage, we are always encircled and kindled by the peace of knowing all will be well… that indeed, all is well. Oh, don’t get me wrong! Our circumstances can be treacherous! We can and do grow lost from time to time. But below, deep below the turbulent waters is a steady stillness if we will but grow still ourselves.
There is a land within that waits for your marker. It’s calling to the people of this world like it has never called before. Shall we find our way to this field? Shall we let the light remind us that we are never alone, that we are beautiful, and that grace is eager to be recognized? Shall we dive deeply into the soil of our souls that we may live wide and open and free?
“Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to me...”
RSS Feed
