Finally, I made it up in time to see the sunrise. It came up with its reflections streaming across the lake so loudly I had to stop my walk to watch. As did others, I noticed. It seemed rude to keep walking when such a magnificent event was occuring, it deserved all of our attention. Of course, there weren't nearly as many people up at 6:17 as there had been at 6:45. I imagine, they were waiting til the sun was up. They were out by the end of my walk - the 95 year old jogger, the 16 year old on her skateboard with a scowl to match her mismatched colored hair, the mom pushing a gurgling baby, the couple being walked by their shaggy black lab. They were out with the gaggle of geese, the chipmunk, the rabbit and the 65 varieties of flowers that I counted. Those were just the flowers with blooms - I did not count the peonies or the lily-of-the-valley whose blooms were already fininshed, nor did I count the numerous varieties of ground covers and decorative bushes and trees along the way.
Being the non-sequential person that I am, I decided to write this early morning day and will take my walk in the afternoon. I wouldn't want to get in a rut, you know.
So - my thoughts on yesterday's events. I am inundated with images, statistics, personal stories and pathos regarding the health and poverty challenges facing our planet. Dr. Helene Gayle, president of CARE-USA, such a powerful and well-spoken lecturer brought tears to my eyes as she shared the issues we face. The book store is filled with books and literature documenting the experiences and data of doctors and individuals and agencies dedicated to eradicating poverty & world hunger in our lifetime. Honestly, it is overwhelming. My capacity for compassion and connectedness is being stretched to new limits. An optimist by nature, I have images of impending doom creeping into my worldview.
The words of Ted Loder's Haunt of Grace were such a welcome balance to the despair I was beginning to feel:
Who can explain how the world has survived all the wars, plagues, epidemics, enmities, exploitations, pollution of resources and social processes, terrible misjudgments, pogroms, holocausts, bilkings, corruptions, andd yet generated such incredible poetry, art, music, literature, such wondrous cultures, episodes of saintliness, movements of justice, struggles for freedom, for healing, for peace, such experiences of love and sacrifice and joy? Surely mystery is an essential ingredient, if not the essential of our common life and this earth in which we are all rooted.
The Haunt of Grace, Responses to the Mystery of God's Presence by Ted Loder. This is a book worth reading - over and over again. His insights and the beauty of his words fed my soul yesterday:
...the mystery we experience is not reducible to the capriciousness of chance or the blind fortunes of coincidence. I believe the mystery is intentional: It intends our good, our redemption. I believe it is gracious: it grants us and all the creatures of the cosmos freedom because that's what love risks doing. I believe it is holy: It makes all of creation sacred and infuses it with meaning. I believe it is personal: it suffers with us and for us, sustains us, enters into a dynamic relationship with us in which our decisions and actions are taken seriously and responded to with healing, new possibilities, and a shared, responsible creativity in the ongoing shaping of life.
Thank you Ted Loder for helping my soul to sing yesterday.
One more thing. Loder quoted author E.B. White who put it this way: "If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise inthe morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. "
Indeed. Chautauqua personifies this dilemma to the endths degree. The finale of me day was Dance Innovations featuring the North Carolina Dance Theatre in residence with the Chautauqua Ballet company. What a way to rejoice in the Lord - through the glories of human body in dance. Absolutely glorious!
Today I think I'll go to the movies to see The Unforeseen.
Terrence Malick and Robert Redford team up to exeutive produce Director Laura Dunn's profoundly stirring, visually stunning, non-fiction poem about urban sprawl, it's creators, it's opposers and its' real danger and cost. Sounds like a challenge - I hope I'm up to it.
Being the non-sequential person that I am, I decided to write this early morning day and will take my walk in the afternoon. I wouldn't want to get in a rut, you know.
So - my thoughts on yesterday's events. I am inundated with images, statistics, personal stories and pathos regarding the health and poverty challenges facing our planet. Dr. Helene Gayle, president of CARE-USA, such a powerful and well-spoken lecturer brought tears to my eyes as she shared the issues we face. The book store is filled with books and literature documenting the experiences and data of doctors and individuals and agencies dedicated to eradicating poverty & world hunger in our lifetime. Honestly, it is overwhelming. My capacity for compassion and connectedness is being stretched to new limits. An optimist by nature, I have images of impending doom creeping into my worldview.
The words of Ted Loder's Haunt of Grace were such a welcome balance to the despair I was beginning to feel:
Who can explain how the world has survived all the wars, plagues, epidemics, enmities, exploitations, pollution of resources and social processes, terrible misjudgments, pogroms, holocausts, bilkings, corruptions, andd yet generated such incredible poetry, art, music, literature, such wondrous cultures, episodes of saintliness, movements of justice, struggles for freedom, for healing, for peace, such experiences of love and sacrifice and joy? Surely mystery is an essential ingredient, if not the essential of our common life and this earth in which we are all rooted.
The Haunt of Grace, Responses to the Mystery of God's Presence by Ted Loder. This is a book worth reading - over and over again. His insights and the beauty of his words fed my soul yesterday:
...the mystery we experience is not reducible to the capriciousness of chance or the blind fortunes of coincidence. I believe the mystery is intentional: It intends our good, our redemption. I believe it is gracious: it grants us and all the creatures of the cosmos freedom because that's what love risks doing. I believe it is holy: It makes all of creation sacred and infuses it with meaning. I believe it is personal: it suffers with us and for us, sustains us, enters into a dynamic relationship with us in which our decisions and actions are taken seriously and responded to with healing, new possibilities, and a shared, responsible creativity in the ongoing shaping of life.
Thank you Ted Loder for helping my soul to sing yesterday.
One more thing. Loder quoted author E.B. White who put it this way: "If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise inthe morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. "
Indeed. Chautauqua personifies this dilemma to the endths degree. The finale of me day was Dance Innovations featuring the North Carolina Dance Theatre in residence with the Chautauqua Ballet company. What a way to rejoice in the Lord - through the glories of human body in dance. Absolutely glorious!
Today I think I'll go to the movies to see The Unforeseen.
Terrence Malick and Robert Redford team up to exeutive produce Director Laura Dunn's profoundly stirring, visually stunning, non-fiction poem about urban sprawl, it's creators, it's opposers and its' real danger and cost. Sounds like a challenge - I hope I'm up to it.
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