Mooring
“Just as
a bright sun causes ice cubes to melt, in the moments when we feel
connected and kind, we create a warm environment that encourages
others around us to relax and open up. Each time we widen the circle
of caring—with a smile, a hug, a listening presence, a prayer—the
ripples flow out endlessly.”
Tara
Brach, Ph.D. (Radical Acceptance, p. 242)
I don't know about you,
but I can get hard-core angry with the ways of the world. All the
stresses of modern living seem to pile up like the Leaning Tower of
Pisa, and sooner or later, they crash down on my head. During the
Friday afternoon trip out to Lake Martin, about two hours from
Birmingham, the temperature was 91degrees, and traffic was terrible
because of a golf tournament out that way. Liza got sick in the car
because of the heat and the winding back road I took trying to avoid
the traffic. By the time I got there, I was one frazzled woman.
Ann and Ellen has spent
the day getting their “modern” appliances working again—internet
and air conditioning, both knocked out by lightening. On top of that, they received a
phone call saying that their boat had floated off its lift
because of unusually high water, and was all the way across the lake.
Mother Nature can still let you know who's boss regardless of how
modern you may be. They retrieved the boat, happy that it had not
been swamped or stolen, but they, too, were worn out.
A couple of days in that
beautiful environment, however, washes all the tension away. Friends
are the mother-load goldmine of modern life. We sat and talked, ate
good food, walked and played with dogs, watched a movie, and
commiserated about family and friends. Saturday night, while we
enjoyed supper on the screen porch, rain fell so hard it blotted out
the other side of the lake and shrouded the house in a veil of mist.
Thankfully, it also cooled the air. It was heavenly. As I drove back
to Birmingham yesterday afternoon, the golf tournament was in its
final day, so traffic was still heavy, but it didn't bother me half
as much. Kindness and common ground smooths out the rough edges,
melts the ice cubes in the heart, and restores our hard-wiring to
some semblance of sanity.
I hope you have friends
like mine, and I hope you spend time with them as often as possible.
They are the mooring that keeps our boat from floating away.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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