Friday, November 28, 2014

In the hubbub, find...

Serenity

The final wisdom of life requires not the annulment of incongruity, but the achievement of serenity within and above it.”
Reinhold Niebuhr

You know, the original Pilgrims, whose holiday we celebrated yesterday, were the most impoverished population ever to live on this continent. They dug more graves than they built houses in their first year here. Yet they found time and energy to give thanks for their blessings, and to share their meal with the native people, without whom none of the Pilgrims would have survived. How did we get from celebrating Thanksgiving as a sacred holiday, to gobbling up our food so we can go shopping?

Such incongruity is troubling to my mind. I know I will never understand it, so my solution is to by-pass the whole thing, and take myself off to the lake. I will commune with the loons—the feathered kind—and the other loons—the female kind, for a few days of serenity while the madness passes. There will always be incongruity, inconsistency, paradox and inexplicable complications in life—kind of like a swirling vortex that if you're caught up in, will pull you straight down. Best to paddle my small boat to a quiet shore and wait for the storm to pass.

If you're a Black Friday fan, bless you, and have fun. If you're not, this is a good day to find a cozy nook, and a good book to read until tomorrow. Allow your serenity to rise above the hubbub and to float gently in your mind.

                                                    In the Spirit,

                                                         Jane

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