Through Stained Glass: Outside My Window

"Questioner: How are we to treat the others?
Ramana Maharshi: There are no others." ~Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi

            

Somedays I don't know what to write. Early this summer, I committed to posting a weekly blog here. For the first two weeks, the subject came easy. Today, the topic remains hidden.

           When this happens, I usually look out my window. I let my senses guide me toward words. I see a variety of colors. Yellows and golds, reds and maroons, pinks and violets are all surrounded by a deep green beneath a cloudless blue sky. I hear the band marching and playing, dogs barking at the neighbors, and the calling of a small flock of geese that just flew over my little house. Oh, and the cicadas. I smell damp grass and my coffee. Looking at the tomatoes in my garden, I imagine how they'll taste, causing my mouth to water – or it might be the sweetness from the blueberries I'm eating. Tecumseh is asleep at my feet, and I can feel his breath on my skin. Writing with an open window, I feel the day growing warmer and more humid.

           Writing that paragraph reminded me of a practice my therapist shared to help ground myself when things get overwhelming. It goes something like this:

• Name 5 things you see around you
• Name 4 things you can touch around you
• Name 3 things you can hear
• Name 2 things you can smell
• Name 1 thing you can taste

I love this little exercise. It gets me back into my body and my breathing. Since my sabbatical, I turn to creation when I have writer's block or if my prayers seem empty. Guided by my senses, I enter back into the Great Conversation – one that began long before I was here and will continue well after I'm gone. I find the beauty within as I stand beneath the beauty surrounding me. In the presence of Oak and Elm trees, Robins and Wrens, Garter Snakes, and Centipedes, I remember my place as part of God'sGod's good creation.

           Paradise is here. Heaven is mirrored in the Mouse and the Human. With its outstretched branches, the Sycamore tree holds space for all living things to come and rest a while. As the Eairth holds us, so does the Loving One of the Universe.

           I didn't know what I was going to write this this morning. Outside my window, I saw creation reminding me that the splendor of God is found in ordinary things. This splendor is etched into the fabric of this life. There is beauty here. Look!

           Take time today to pray. However you do, it is entirely up to you. Perhaps you try the exercise above. Maybe you let the quiet solitude of the landscape draw you deeper into the presence of Creator God. Maybe today you play – letting go of whatever worries you and letting the flow lead you into the mysterious, cosmic dance of What'sWhat's Happening. 

Who knows where it'll lead you!