So
we were away for the weekend at Emmaus house for St Johns parish weekend. I
bunked off the scheduled sessions – writing writing (I’ve started another
novel) – but made it to prayers in the calm, dim chapel full of peace. Taizé
chants, strangely brisk with their electronic accompaniment, but welcome in their
beauty and familiarity. A few surprising moments (human beings are odd, aren’t
they?) and some delicious meals. Sunshine. A rose garden. A view of a green
patchwork of fields and trees, with horses and a traversing afternoon fox.
One
of us looked sober and thoughtful but was probably reading Poldark.
One of us was primarily chilling out.
It
was good, but I missed this place.
It
was nice to come home.
Last
night, in the deep dusk of my fox-watch, the two badgers had so vigorous a
rough-and-tumble on the verandah that they inadvertently turned the snick on
the door and locked me in! I became their captive audience. I wish I could photograph them for you, but it almost dark when they visit, and my laptop is my only camera now. Still, you can see the Audacious Seagull on the roof of Komorebi in the outside photo above. He stands on the waterbutt outside Alice and Hebe's studio, rapping on the window for his tea. We are discouraging him because the Roof Community is shocked and offended that we feed him; they feel betrayed - he is an Interloper. So he comes down to Komorebi and steals the fox's food instead. I keep watch to protect it; he stands on the far side of the pitched roof of the Badger's woodwork shed (my Badger, not the real ones), his baleful eye just visible above the apex of the roof.
8 comments:
That sounds like a good parish retreat, and a time for some writing too.
:0) xx
Between this post and your facebook one about the Jesuit Retreat, I'm feeling a bit bummed. I gave up my reservation at Gethsemani Monestary (Kentucky) for next week. I've been able to retreat twice and have had to miss the last two years because of responsibilities I fee toward my mother. The beauty of the experience is that it is offered on a donation basis. I read; I walk trails; I sleep; I participate in the hours of prayer; I eat simple & silent meals. I revel in the experience and am sorrowful to miss it again this year....
Well, may the peace and refreshment you have given up somehow know how to find you right where you are. xx
This made me miss my visits to Pacem in Terris. I'm hoping to be able to go this fall, a beautiful time to retreat. Not so many bugs, cooler temperatures, bright colored trees....
I enjoy reading about all the beings (human and otherwise) in your life. xoxo
:0) xx
I re-read my comment and realize it does NOT reflect my heart accurately. Yes, I am sad about missing the opportunity, but I gladly give it up. My heart belongs here and would find little rest being so far away from Mother in her hours of helplessness and need.
Per your response, I'm already experiencing the supernatural refreshment that comes from being content in whatEVER state I'm in :) Reading a classic book on prayer, journaling, a visit to a quiet spot this afternoon with my husband, and rearranging a flower bed have already brought satisfaction. And the week I COULD have been away doesn't even begin until this coming Monday!
:0) xx
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