September
Prayer
What a
gift to live in Colorado during this transition between seasons,
to savor simultaneously the full flowering of summer's lavishness
while previewing autumn's crispness in the early morning
air. "Goofing off" is still permissible for those of us who
have not yet "returned to school." While the practice of
play has been proven to benefit mind and soul as well as
our physical bodies, the demands of adulthood in conjunction
with societal expectations of productivity, often condition
us to ignore the rewards of holy leisure. But take heart
in knowing that the Carmelite community in Crestone, CO has
chosen "holy leisure" as one of the four vows their members
are asked to embrace in order to live a balanced, whole life!
Geoff
Godbey, a professor of leisure studies at Penn State University,
is a fervent advocate of "goofing off", especially at summer's
end. "If you stand in your garden and actually do nothing
for awhile, you begin to see things differently. You suddenly
make connections that you did not see before, gaining understanding
about cycles. Every living thing has its own sense of time." Is
it possible to honor the cycles of our own lives by incorporating
a more playful, contemplative stance into our days? Might
it be time to overlook the weeds that need pulling, to observe
and be with our own inner rhythms? Perhaps fostering indulgence
in holy leisure can help to ease us into this posture.
On a recent,
early morning of "goofing off" in Wash Park, I became mesmerized
by the placid surface of the lake that reflected back to
me a perfect mirror image of the surrounding landscape. Soon
the wind began whipping up small waves and ripples, distorting
clearly delineated shapes, creating impressionistic clumps
of color rather than distinct images, much like the effect
of disquietude in my own life.
How I
need to come from a place of deep stillness and awareness,
O Gracious One, and to detach from the compulsions and fears
that distort Your Divine Image within me.
Dare I
hope to be a free and true likeness of You?
Play reminds
me that I am not in charge of the universe, that the planet
still rotates when I am not at my duty station and that You
have commissioned me to delight in Your creation.
Grant
me a humble, Sabbath spirit that acknowledges my need for
refreshment.
As consent
moves into surrender and trust takes hold, remind me to expect
Your image in the most unexpected places.
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