Follow Time-Letting Our Soil Renew

In my last blog, I said I felt empty. I referenced Rumi’s poem, The Guest House. The poem tells me to welcome and accept all that comes, while being open to letting to go, and open to what is offered.

What/who do I invite into my guest house?

What has surfaced these last seven weeks is that I am NOT empty, and I am NOT full.

I am not empty because I’m blessed with faith in a sustaining God and faith in my authentic myself. I’m not empty because I have meaning and purpose in life. I’m not empty because I have loved, and that has brought me deep grief. It’s a hard-earned gift.

I am not full because I realize I want more music in my life, more art in my life. I’m not full because I want a change in my prayer time. These ideas and opportunities came separately and slowly.

I read a brochure about Symphony Concerts I can attend monthly on Sunday afternoons. A once-a-month afternoon away won’t affect my ill husband’s care.

A once-a-week virtual art class for four weeks, by a variety of artists through Spiritual Directors International, will give me new ideas and time to share with other artists. (www.sdiworld.org)

A once-a-week virtual centering prayer time with one of the Cenacle sisters I know in Chicago births my delight. It is silent time together with others. The Cenacle sisters, sj, have been important in my formation as a person and as a spiritual director. It's like coming home.

Adding these life-giving opportunities means to continue letting go of other commitments, of other cares.

Letting go is a movement of aging and wisdom; earned and gifted, often with sacrifice.

Fallow time is taking time apart, to allow our soil of life to renew for new (spring) growth.

In a life-time, my recent spring is not like the SPRING of life where everything is new and beginning. Then the SUMMER of life where we seek our purpose, our vocation, family and friends. It is a busy productive time; yet learning, often painfully, what life is really like-life lessons. Then the AUTUMN of life where we know what we do well and heed our limits; we’re human. Then WINTER where we’re more aware of our mortality and appreciate the harvest that autumn brings, along with our acceptance and joy in the life we’ve had.

In all these seasons we need our cloud of witnesses-our friends.

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