To Live Awake!

 “WHAT NINE MONTHS OF ATTENTION DOES FOR AN EMBRYO,                                                                                                                      FORTY EARLY MORNINGS WILL DO FOR YOUR GRADUAL GROWING WHOLENESS.”    –Rumi

My ‘forty early mornings ritual’ ends today and I have, once again, been caught up in the beauty of morning:

•  the touch of pre-dawn  breezes upon my face
• the new light falling softly upon the dark silhouettes of night,
• the freshness of all creation
• the sunrises,the raindrops
• the foggy, misty mornings
• the bird song
• and sometimes the little crawling creatures on the ground
• the gardenpath
• grass still with dew
• trees standing tall
• Crepe Myrtle Bushes in full bloom

• the sky with its’ hundred faces
• the sunflowers looking towards the east
• the hummingbirds at the feeder
• my heart slowly awakening
• everywhere I look: unnameable, mysterious beauty
• Holy Mystery is your name.

And there was silence–especially when I walked into the pre-dawn morning when the stars were still visible.

And so, I will probably continue my morning ritual whenever possible.

 It wasn’t always easy to be there, and I missed a few mornings, but what I learned is that living awake is a sacramental experience.  I also learned, in some small way, that I must make every effort to carry my wakefulness into the new day.  

It is not easy to live awake!  It is, however, a noteworthy accomplishment to live awake!  When we are able to do so the people with whom we live and move and have our being will be richly blessed.