.....to
live content with small means; to
seek elegance rather than luxury,
and refinement rather than fashion;
to be worthy, not respectable, and
wealthy, not rich; to study hard,
think quietly, talk gently, act
grandly; to listen to the stars and
the birds, to babes and sages, with
open heart; to bare all cheerfully,
do all bravely, await occasions,
hurry never; in a word, to let the
spiritual, unbidden and unconscious
grow up through the common.
~ William
Ellery Channing
Heaviness in the
heart makes it
stoop, but a good
word makes it glad.
~ Proverbs 12:25
Sometimes we can
learn from nature
what we are so
fearful to learn
from our own lives.
Consider a day when
the sun has had a
curtain of clouds
pulled across it,
leaving the air
heavy with moisture.
It feels weighty
even when there is a
gentle breeze and a
relatively mild
temperature. There
is no visible
moisture, but the
drops are simply
waiting for their
cue to come on
stage.
This heaviness of
nature is often
mirrored in our own
souls. We may have
an intuitive sense
that "lightness"
exists, and
"lightness" may even
be stored in our
memory, but it seems
to elude us. The
truth is that
heaviness will come
for a period of time
and then it will
leave to make room
for lightness. Each
has something to
teach us if we will
observe in
stillness. Perhaps
that is the largest
obstacle observing
in stillness.
When there's
lightness we are
joyful and our souls
have a blithe spirit
about them. We bask
in that for a short
time, but then go on
with the rest of
life and just
assume, even expect,
the lightness to be
there always.
Then when it leaves
to make room for
heaviness, we are
angry, hurt, fearful
and in a panic. Our
soul feels lonely
and dark. We want to
run, avoid, deny,
search for what is
good and light. We
try to navigate our
way through the
heaviness with a
kind of brutal
force yearning to
rid ourselves of
that which has taken away our ease
and comfort.
Heaviness and
lightness are part
of the whole. Both
have their appointed
time, and in the
fullness of that
time, they take
their bow and leave
the stage so the
next act can begin.
Our lives would be
so much more "even"
and our souls would
be so much healthier
if we simply
observed each new
act in stillness.
O God,
whether I am
blanketed in the
cloak of
heaviness or
wrapped in the
gossamer of
light, let me
relax my control
and be the
observer of the
lessons of life.
~ Cathy Norrell
