Tuesday, August 22, 2006

The shape of gratitude...

Gratitude comes in all shapes & sizes... This past weekend, it took the form of a small group of friends sharing time on the shores of Bennett Lake, near Combermere, Ontario. Every summer, my friend Paul extends an invitation to the members of our small Christian Meditation group to join him at his cottage. In fact, it's an invitation to paradise...

Saturday was as close to perfection as I can remember being. Quiet solitude reading on the dock while others napped or hiked... a boisterous game of frisbee-in-the-lake followed by a leisurely swim... a journey-à-deux by canoe around the lake... silent group meditation... a wonderful meal prepared by many willing hands... conversation-under-the-stars of spiritual paths and, in the end, how they all come together. How we all come together. I had the pleasure of having a screened-in porch as my "bedroom" and slept with windows wide open to the sounds of the night. Night as God intended.

The visit was short, but oh-so-very-very-sweet. Admittedly, when I got back home on Sunday, I had trouble adjusting to the noise & activity of the city. I found myself in a foul mood. Luckily, that passed (as all things do), and I was left with a reminder of how important nature is to my spiritual and overall well-being. As much as I love my home & neighbourhood, it is in re-connecting to simple pleasures and experiencing nature with all my senses that I tap into true peace - the presence of God.

Sitting silently in a canoe, on a lake so calm I was losing sense of what was up & what was down, the gratitude was palpable, yet entirely inexpressable in that moment. Words were pointless. Today, I offer up one of my favourite prayers, by Dag Hammarskjold:
For all that has been, Thanks.
For all that will be, Yes.

PAX,

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