Aligning with Grace

I awaken to a gentle falling rain and go down to the river to give thanks for the gift of life and another year of life as well. In many cultures, it is very auspicious for rain to fall on one's birthday. Though it is cold and windy, I do my river ablutions and step into the river, allowing my feet to get wet as a sort of baptism and connection to the spirit of this body of water. I say my river meditations and prayers and take in the broad expanse of the riverbank now almost totally denuded by the fallen leaves... It is a special day I am told - for this year my birthday falls during a total solar eclipse, as well as a New Moon - in addition to occurring during the celebration of Diwali - the Indian festival of lights. It is a time heralding transformation and change and I am also told, that a birthday on such a day brings abundance on many levels as well... In a year of so much change and transition I look forward to new beginnings and a change in direction, for as I h...

After morning meditations, I head down to the river on a very resplendent fall morning. The air is crisp, and the sun shines brightly, a total gift, after nearly 24 hours of steady and much needed rain... It has been a while since I visited this river, which is swollen right now, and greatly abundant. There was a time, not so long ago, I visited it every day, offering prayers, lovingkindness meditations, and numerous spiritual practices, that I now realize, were not so much meant for the others they were intended for, but to release much more in me than I could ever have envisioned or thought possible. I stand at the launching area, and survey the ondulations of waves, breaking up at the banks of the river, scattering and dissipating, merely a footprint away from my toes... In some ways, the topography of the river resembles the covers of a few of my manuscripts, but in other ways, this river is very different. The river and I - are the same - and yet, we are not... I try to remember t...