THE BLESSING OF THE EVERYDAY

I hate to admit that when my husband wakes first, I ask him to bring me hot tea and my phone.  Why don't I meditate or stretch or begin the day in prayer?  But more often than not I look at the headlines.  Those first moments of the day would be so much more enjoyable without the frustration of last night's news.  

When I'm up first I make the tea.   I let Mr. Wiggles out, give him his favorite food, and then look at my phone.  Have you noticed that sometimes being informed costs us?  What can I do about guns, abortions rights or Ukraine?   

We don't like to give in, and we haven't.  On November 8 we can vote.  But our mental well-being is important.  Nothing will be changed by my witnessing the news.  Why not enjoy the simplicity of the moment?  Why not focus wholly on the life before us?  

Isle of Mull, Scotland

There is a deep satisfaction that is the undercurrent of the everyday.  It was so easy to find that satisfaction when we were traveling.  Iceland with its geothermal pools; we submerged ourselves into their other worldliness.  The islands of the Inner Hebrides with their grazing sheep.  But satisfaction is here too:  an autumn that's cool, leaves that fall, mums of all colors and vintage pumpkins in earthy shades. 

It's glorious to stay in the moment and appreciate the good that comes our way.  It turns out there is more than I can count.  Many of these good things are small, but not all.  All three grandchildren were here for my birthday this weekend.  This is not small.  They are old enough to give me hope for the future.   My brother is coming.  Not small either.  

God gives us a heart and not just the muscle.  Otherwise, it could not be broken--and mended.  God gives us feelings, hopes, emotions, desires . . . we are complicated.    There are safe places to leave our heart--in our Journals, in a poem, with a child, with someone who loves us, with God.  One thing I have learned is that sadness has an expiration date.  When sadness is most new this is hard to believe, but no feeling lasts forever.  Each day is a new opportunity.  We are never reduced to who we were yesterday.     

We can always be surprised by the joy of simple things.  I get great pleasure out of finding antlers shed by the deer who graze our meadow.   Have you brought home a pumpkin yet?  Or made apple cider?  Or sat by a fire?  I love All Saints Day, which is soon, and the singing of "For All the Saints Who from Their Labors Rest."  The first year after our son died, I skipped church on that day for the raw grief of my emotions, but now I see our son walking with God.  As I write, I anticipate the exhilaration I will feel singing this hymn.  All of us have someone whom we remember in glory.    

I'm going to try to give the rest of October to the God of our Fathers and Mothers and skip the recap of the evening news.  Habits are hard to break, but it's worth trying.  In peace, Nina Naomi