November 25, 2004

Everyday Sacred

The more I dwell in the Light, I notice everyday to be sacred. My reaction has increasingly been to experience a feeling of gratitude that overflows within me. I recognize that every day, every breeze, flower, raindrop, each part of myself and in each of my relationships – God is present.

Today in my kitchen, this sacred presence is so very evident. It swirls in the air with delightful fragrance of traditional cooking, its warmth radiates with the sunlight through the steamy windows. But most of all, this sacredness fills my heart with an awareness of abundance to which I feel fully awake.

Dear friends and family are gathering in my small kitchen today; we will sit side by side amidst this swirling sacred energy and share this abundance. Sensing this sacred energy, and becoming fully present to it, I again feel a gratitude that springs from a deep well within me. This Thanksgiving gratitude overflows to my every day, for I witness every day to be sacred, just as this one is.

5 comments:

Chodpa said...

Hi Meredith, I was just reflecting on your post, and reflecting on my experience and how it seems to have changed over time.

It has struck me recently how predominant the feeling of gratitude is in my experience, for the teachers and the teachings, and for so many little things, like leaves, park benches, smiles, tears, clouds, and on and on.

And it struck me how, even in earlier days of practice, this feeling wasn't really present much, but a sense of wanting to get somewhere was very strong, and a consequent sense of poverty in the present was also there.

Which is not to say that this is more 'right' and that is more 'wrong', but just to acknowledge that without the years of striving so hard to transform my experience, perhaps I would not have arrived at a sense that perhaps it doesn't really need transforming, just seeing what has always been. And then the gratitude naturally flows forth.

take care, and best wishes to you and your family

Unknown said...

The two spiritual practices I find most challenging (and I suspect they are connected) are giving thanks and letting go fear.

I have returned just recently to the practice of the Presence (Brother Lawrence/Hannah Smith) after a long absence. It feels like I have emerged into a sunlit room after being stuck in a dank cellar. It has helped.

You seem especially conscious of grace -- especially the small graces that come in ordinary moments. I would consider it a goal for myself to work towards if I didn't know it doesn't quite work that way.

Meredith said...

Dear David,
I love that you're reading Practicing the Presence... A lovely little book. There is so much authenticity in this post of yours today. A softening of your shell. I think you are beginning to awaken: "It feels like I have emerged into a sunlit room after being stuck in a dank cellar." This is the Light, my friend. And it is shining so gracefully on you.

Noticing the small graces of each moment comes with being awake. Everything glimmers with the special quality of illumination when you are awake to it. In each of these small experiences with Grace, I feel gratitude, which seems to only awaken me more and more to the mystery. One rolls gently right into the other. I believe you are right about this being connected with letting go of fear. A feeling of fearlessness results from seeing the “rightness” of each moment. As I appreciate and see grace in all things – I don’t want them to be different. There is perfection in the way things are. I need not be afraid.

Thank you, dear Friend, for your comments today.
Meredith

Marjorie said...

I enjoyed this post very much, thank you for sharing it. I know this feeling of gratitude washing over me, stopping me to just be in it. For me, its fleeting, I'd like to change that.

Joe said...

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility

e. e. cummings