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Let the Light Shine Through
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I AM UP EARLY. It's my favorite kind of day: a summer Friday, gorgeous forecast, hanging in these beautiful mountains where we await dear friends who arrive this afternoon for an overnight visit.
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Cats Mountain 7.15.22 6:32 am
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Except to say "await" is not really accurate. There are a thousand To-Dos to do before they arrive, two or three related to their visit:
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- chicken in the crockpot*
- check the bathroom towels
- wildflowers for the vase on the reading porch
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There is also an endless list of the things that make up a regular day here:
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- Grace Notes (!)
- read two: Appalachian Writers' Workshop novel excerpts
- check short story submission deadline
- gesso canvases for E and P
- watercolor card for K and D
- Holy Casseroley
- schedule call with T
- walk; stretch; shower
- (etc., etc.)
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It's a beautiful life, a beautiful time in a beautiful life, and I try not to take even one second for granted. Just now Spotify served up to me Hollow Coves, an Australian Indie Folk band new to me as of yesterday. The song is Blessings, and here is the refrain:
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There are blessings all around you
Open up your eyes
Feel the sunlight fall upon you
Let it free your mind
There are blessings all around you
Take a step outside
Let your heart shine in a new light
See it come alive
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It's summer. It's mid-summer, quite literally, if you consider summer made up of June, July and August. (I do.) It's the heart of summer and my wish for you is that you are in a place where you can move into this weekend filled with wonder, filled with hope, filled with the reminder love is all around.
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I hope you feel your heart shine.
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Jean Smart as legendary (and washed up) stand-up comedienne Deborah Vance is just so, so good. As is Hannah Einbinder, who plays young comedy writer Ava Daniels. (I just learned she is the daughter of Saturday Night Live's Lorraine Newman! That's fun.) And Carl Clemons-Hopkins as Marcus, COO of Deborah's management company. Yes! Season Two is recently available.
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I can't even describe this but to repeat: Wonder and awe! Wonder and awe!
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The song I mentioned above, now on REPEAT.
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Loving the Earth, today's meditation from Father Richard Rohr's Center for Action and Contemplation
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What if getting our relationship right with the Earth and all its creatures is not the scenic backdrop of some circus sideshow but as crucial as getting our relations right with our Creator, our family, and our neighbors? What if all of Creation is the most palpable expression of our Creator’s generosity, sense of wonder, and commitment to diversity? What happens if we begin to include the fungi, the flowers, the fritillary butterflies, and the flocks of wild geese as our neighbors, our family, and our Creator’s expressive face?
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(Do click and read the entire meditation. The perspective offered by Gary Paul Nabhan shifted something in me. It's a keeper.)
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It may well be my recent reading of this remarkable book, Atlas of the Heart, that flipped my heart wide open to greater love and joy and wonder and awe. Nobody does it better than Brene, and in this, her most recent release, she explores "87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human and walk through a new framework for cultivating meaningful connection." As Brene notes, this is for the mapmakers and travelers in all of us. (I loved the audiobook since Brene reads it and shares all kinds of sideline comments that make the experience a very personal one. And I have the hardback so I can underline, underline, underline.)
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*What I got to get into the Crock Pot for tonight!
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So good, so easy for a summer supper.
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from THE DAILY GRACE archives
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When You See the Light
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I'd never, ever, ever considered this. But when he said it, and it sank into my bones, I realized this was one of those truths that changes everything.
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sunshine fell and reminded me life can be so gracious sometimes
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See something here a friend might enjoy? I'd be so honored if you were to forward and share the love!
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