dmdubay

“Let the earth harken to the words of my mouth. May my instruction soak in like the rain, and my discourse permeate like the dew: like a downpour upon the grass, like a shower upon the crops. For I will sing of the Lord’s renown, I will sing of the greatness of our God!” (Deuteronomy, Chapter 32)

The imagery of the words of wisdom and love soaking in like the rain strikes me in a way that is gentle and cleansing. I am like the earth,

Thalictrum aquilegiifolium

parched and dry, unable to produce crops until the gentle rains permeate my being. For that to happen I must be still and receptive—a clump of dirt awaiting restoration. Imagine the beauty of the fruit when I allow that rain to soak through me!

“Love one another. There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for a friend.” John Chapter 15

That is quite a heavy idea to ponder. How do I lay down my life for a friend? Very few, I believe are called to die physically for another. I think it happens in little bits and pieces every day. If you have a spouse, children or even a close friend, you know what I mean. Often it requires that I put aside my desires or needs, to care for someone else. I die a little to my idea of what freedom really means. My agenda becomes superfluous and selfish seeming when a friend or family member suffers and needs my attention. I might be lacking energy, be cranky or busy, but if I let go of that and focus on the other’s needs, I find myself dying to selfishness. And that brings me to life.

sisters

gunnera

How do I start again after falling off the wagon? I don’t want to give up at this point. I’m in my ninth month (of blogging) and I can’t throw in the towel now. In April I focused on fostering a healthy environment. It was more about doing than reflecting and writing. So, as busy as I was, I began to skip days of writing, and then days became weeks.

My focus for the merry month of May is to reflect each day on a scripture passage or a bit of wisdom from various sources. I want to be open and allow myself to be surprised. I can find wisdom on a bumper sticker or a t-shirt: “Life is Good.”

If I really embraced the truth in those words so casually worn on a t-shirt, how would my life change? I guess that’s my purpose in reflecting on wisdom sayings this month, to have them permeate my soul and change me for the better.

Holy Saturday

In the tomb the silence soothes

The agony is done and gone

I rest beside His lifeless form

Accepting that this is the end

It’s peaceful here, I am not sad.

I know that it must be this way.

The life, the flesh, the body’s needs

Don’t matter now, they never did.

I go with Him to that dark place

With open hands to set life free

No longer clinging selfishly

To the image that I thought was me.

A light, a piercing light burns through

And all is changed, His life, I see

Was never in this dank, dark place

It lives. It shines eternally.

In all that welcomes, bending knees

That death to self that needs must be.

in Tuscany

I am devoting the month of April to increasing my awareness of how my actions affect the environment: not only the physical environment of our planet, but the spiritual and emotional environment as well. I will attempt to do something positive every day, or refrain from doing a negative thing. Little things, if done by everybody, can make a huge difference.

I try to remember to take my cloth bags to the grocery store to avoid wasting paper or imposing more plastic on the environment, but I am not always successful. Rather than beating myself up over my forgetfulness, though, I promise to try harder next time. I will not mess up my emotional environment by negative thinking.

I had a book called “One Hundred Things to do for the Environment.” With Earth Day coming up on April 22^nd, many such resources are available on line. I want to put these recommendations into practice. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or practices I can incorporate into my daily living to make a smaller footprint.

I heard a talk once about the value of laughter. The speaker cited research about its effects on a person’s wellbeing, both mental and physical. “You need to have a laughing partner,” she said, “someone you can laugh with every day.” She went on to say that if you don’t have a laughing partner, you should, at the very least, laugh once a day. Schedule it if necessary. I was relating this to my brother and sister-in-law while eating in a crowded restaurant. I looked at my watch and said, “Oh, it’s time to laugh.” We started laughing, forcing it at first. The more we laughed, the harder it was to stop. People at nearby tables looked at us strangely, but smiled. The mood in the restaurant lightened up considerably. So, laugh, it makes the words a brighter place.

Name two days of the week that start with “t.”

Today and tomorrow.