“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”                                                                                                      ― Mary Oliver

Mama "C" and I were having a conversation over morning coffee today.

She said, "You must be still and listen.  

Look at all that surrounds you.

There-in lies your hope and joy."

I pondered that for a moment and replied,

"What about all the pain and stresses of life?"

She replied, "They are to be born with grace.  
If you notice,

I move about my world and business with focused intent~~

and I sing as I go.  
It is difficult to be sad when you 

are singing.  
Ah yes, the storms do come and I take shelter and

ride them out.

But as soon as there is a hint of sun or rainbow, 
I am out and about my business once again."

"I guess you are telling me that in this life 
we must learn to go with the flow
~~the downs as well as the ups."

"Yes!" she said. 
"Life has its ups and downs, but we must not get

stuck in the downs.  
They are momentary and full of lessons.  
Remember when the branch came down on the deck and when your electric was down for 5 days?  
How is that impacting you today?", she asked.

Well, not very much at all," I said.  
It's just a memory now and I learned how to

cope with those loses."

"Yes, you learned to cope and then you moved on.  
That's how life goes.

Sometimes things can get very rough, but we must go on.  

Sometimes the pain of loss can be excruciating, 
yet we must go on.

We soon learn that even the most intense pain 
changes its face as time passes.  
It may not go away, but it gets different."

"I think I understand," I said.  
"Even though things can change on a dime

there is a stability to our days."  
And...there is stability in life.  

Perhaps that is just another name for God--stability.

Even as the waves of the sea crash and roil
~~~there is stability under all their frantic thrashing.  

There is a calm if we just sink deep 

into the love of the Great Mystery."

 "I guess it is true what Rumi says; 

"Laughter will come after tears. Whoever foresees this is a servant blessed by God. Wherever water flows, life flourishes: wherever tears fall, Divine mercy is shown.”

Well, for now I know, 

the sun and the moon sometimes disagree over 

who will get to tuck me in at night.

And at this moment in my life, 

I am having more fun than anyone on this planet.” 

Thanks!