Each morning brings a dusting of new fallen snow, just
enough to make the world look sparkling and lovely all over again. Soup bubbles on the back of the stove. We fill bird feeders regularly and are
rewarded by crowds of grateful sparrows and chickadees, goldfinches in their
olive plumage and the redheaded woodpecker who lives next door. As well as the intrepid squirrel population.
We have settled in for winter. During a recent surprisingly-warm-for-the-season
midnight, unable to sleep we crept downstairs to watch the stars. The neighbors’ holiday lights were turned
off. Even the streetlights seemed far
away while the clear velvet star studded sky drew close and we felt held. And
then we were greeted by a shooting star blazing across the skies.
The Solstice has come and been well celebrated. Imperceptibly at first, the light begins to
return. Slowly, ever so slowly, a minute
in the morning, one in the afternoon and the day begins to expand. Time as we humans measure it moves
onwards. And our thoughts turn towards
the gratitude. Gratitude for the seasons
past and the parts we have been able to play within them. Gratitude for gathering together and then
moving apart and the hope of coming together once again. The past, present and future all rolled into
one.
At the beginning of this year we embarked on a project that
we called Our Blessing Bowl. We chose a
bowl of surpassing beauty that had been stashed away in a corner. Even bringing it out into the light was a
blessing. We set it in a special spot
and gave it a couple of pens and a stack of slips of paper. Our intention was to write a short note about
each happy experience, any time we felt blessed during the year. We expected to read them at the end of the
year ….. or when things got tough.
At the beginning of the year, we noticed joy in so many
things, we constantly found ourselves recording the moment and placing it in
the bowl. And then there were times that
we completely forgot about our Blessing Bowl.
Sometimes one of us would remember the bowl and go back in our memories
and record a time or place that needed remembering. I wish I could say that our bowl was crammed
full with happy memories, but this has been a real year and some of our
memories though tender and true s got lost in the rush of life.
Checking out the bowl I sometimes wondered if we had chosen
a bowl that was too large for our special moments. But, mixing around the notes we left each
other to mark these special times, I glance at the dates running through my
hands and see that every month is well represented. And I breathe a sigh of relief. Our lives are real and our harvest of good
times is abundant.
Soon, as the year turns towards tomorrow, we will unpack
this past year and relive the hopes and joys as they unfolded.
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