Aligning with Grace

I cannot believe it has been almost two months since my last entry here... There have been so many times I have intended to connect here, but as the saying goes - life got in the way! At the beginning of September, I finished my summer project, which was to go through every closet, drawer, and cabinet in the house - generally lightening my load and footprint on the earth. The result is that now I can see where everything is - and have passed on the many things I no longer need. I also embarked on a life-changing course of coming into greater health and wellness, and now, nearly two months later, I am reaping the fruits of my labor and enjoying its sweet harvest. This morning, it was both sunny and cool, and I was moved to take my coffee down to the river, as I began nearly every morning years ago. The river called, and I longed to just go and be by its banks. It was swollen and full and much debris hugged the boat ramp after days of very heavy rains. There I stood, b...

There are times in our lives when we feel filled... I thought of that this morning when I visited the river for some "Loving-Kindness" practice after my morning prayers and meditation. The river had swollen over its banks and almost up the entire boat ramp area due to the gentle falling rains of the last few days. The rain has been mostly steady, but a couple of days ago when I visited, the river was still pretty calm. But not so today... I could see a lot of debris floating downstream with incredible urgency, as if all the pieces of tree trunks and limbs were late for a date or something. Still, what captivated my thoughts was this image of fullness - of being filled to the brim, like this river that was bursting at the seams and over its banks. Yes, there are times in our lives when we are filled... We may be filled with many things. We may be filled with love, or happiness, or a sense of goodness or well-being - which are not all that different from one another. We...