Mystic Musings: Lent 3/16
“We were born before the wind
Also, younger than the sun
'Ere the bonnie boat was won
As we sailed into the mystic
Hark now, hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly
Into the mystic
Photo by Joshua J. Cotton @jcotton
Every so often I am able to step back from the usual narrative of my life and realize, “This is all a magical marvelous mystical mystery!” Seriously, just the fact that we are alive. Just the fact that we have hearts that pump and lungs that breathe. Just the fact that we live on this spinning rock that circles a massive ball of exploding fire. Just the fact that caterpillars turn into butterflies and tadpoles into frogs. Just the fact that every breath, every step, every sound, every taste and every word is pure gift!
Of course, most of the time I am focused on the checklist for the day. I am concerned about my obligations to others and their obligation to me. I am ruminating on what life didn’t give me. I am caught in the minutiae of meeting expectations, pleasing others, and making sure I assume my share of responsibility. I am acting as if life is something I deserved.
But, every so often it hits me. None of this needed to happen. The trees I am looking at right now didn’t need to exist. The wind that is blowing through them was not an obligation. The fingers that I am typing with didn’t come from a mail-order catalogue.
There is nothing but gift here. “We were born before the wind and younger than the sun.” We sail into the mystic. We live in the mystery!
DON’T sit quietly. Look around your current environment and say out loud, “This chair is pure gift. This breath is pure gift. My sight is pure gift. My joy or my sadness is pure gift.” Keep going until you have named everything you can see, smell, hear, taste and feel. right in this moment And then say it again, “My life is pure gift!”