The Season and the River Sing...

I had not been able to get back into the water since last Thursday. which was Thanksgiving Day. So this morning I decided, that whatever the conditions, I was going in. The sky looked good, even though rain was in the forecast...

From the moment my paddle first dipped into the water, it felt as effortless as dipping a spoon into a cup of tea. Grace and I pushed away very easily from the launch area and immediately fell into a cadence that felt sacred in its rhythm...

The water was dark and murky, and it made me think of the prayer by Thomas Merton I wrote about yesterday - about not being able to see the road ahead, and I thought of that prayer's relevance in my life this year...

I had no agenda or time frame, save to do a brief meditation somewhere inside this river's sweet embrace...

I paddled upstream and was immediately captivated by the joyous singing of two birds, delicately singing their sweet songs, like two sopranos. It took me back to my days of choral singing, when I occasionally solo-ed as a soprano...

I paddled closer to the part of the island I heard the singing come from...

Then I heard a woodpecker provide his own musical contribution - as a bass line...That was duly followed by the echo and response of another woodpecker on the other side of the river who contributed his own rich voice - mimicking a tenor...

I paddled some more, and then stopped and meditated - floating downstream - watching the river banks disappear from my field of vision in slow motion. I did my Reiki chanting out loud - adding to the glorious symphony of music...I offered prayers for many - for a friend burying her grandmother today, for a mother dying of cancer, and a former student of mine battling cancer as well. I prayed for several others - including someone who insistently popped into my head...

As I concluded my meditation, chanting, and prayers, a flock of birds materialized - joyously playing hide and seek - and it seemed to me they were also singing and laughing. Almost in direct response, another flock of birds on the other side of the river did the same...

All of this joyous music and interplay reminded me of an entry I made almost at this time last year, entitled "Divine Kirtan..."

Music has been in my heart and soul these last couple of days as I enter into this sacred season...

Yesterday I received a Christmas CD done by a beautiful, budding and very talented and gifted adolescent - who records a collection of Christmas songs every couple of years with a friend. It is her parents' Christmas gift to many, and a priceless one indeed...

I was deeply moved by the songs. This dear child's solo rendition of the "Ave Maria" moved me very deeply. She sang like an angel and played the piano with unbelievable grace and virtuosity. I marveled at how her talent had blossomed, and felt that this piece was worth the price of admission to heaven! Surely all the angels in heaven and Mother Mary herself were smiling down in sheer delight of this offering!

I also bought Mary Chapin Carpenter's new Christmas CD, entitled "Twelve Songs of Christmas." I heard her being interviewed yesterday on the Diane Rehm show on National Public Radio, and I just had to have it! I came home with one CD in my hand, and another that awaited me in the day's mail. I proceeded to listen to both side by side, as a meditation that filled my afternoon...

So many songs touched and captivated my heart! I will leave you with the lyrics from one of Chapin's original compositions:

Come Darkness, Come Light

Come darkness, come light
Come new star, shining bright
Come love to this world tonight
Alleluia

Come broken, come whole
Come wounded in your soul
Come anyway that you know
Alleluia

There's a humble stable and a light within
There's an angel hovering and three wise men
Today a baby's born in Bethlehem
Alleluia

Come doubting, come sure
Come fearful to this door
Come see what love is for
Alleluia

Come running, come walking slow
Come weary on your broken road
Come see Him and shed your heavy load
Alleluia

Come darkness, come light
Come new star, shining bright
Come love to this world tonight
Alleluia

May the season's gifts take seed and blossom in all your awaiting hearts!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Olga, I just bought Mary Chapin Carpenter's new Christmas CD too ... I love it. Happy Holidays. Love, Sheila

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