Waking Up

Tags

dawn, expectation, give thanks, grateful, Kahlil Gibran, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I opened my eyes (finally) this morning to a beautiful scene outside my window. The leaves are on the ground now, having done their best to shade us from the heat of summer and serenade us in the breezes. The carpet that they make for the earth is mostly yellow and gives the morning a quiet glow that urges me on to this Saturday. There is expectation in their invitation and I recall a verse from long ago that has stayed with me and pops up often to get me out of bed and into the day.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. (Kahlil Gibran – The Prophet)

Of Words and Voice

Tags

desire, God, Kahlil Gibran, love, mystic, Mystic of the Month, poet, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understanding, voice, winged heart

Last evening, at our Mystic of the Month gathering, I – and some of the attendees – reconnected with Kahlil Gibran, a mystical poet and “old friend” who lived from 1883 to 1931 and whose work was quite popular in the 1960s and ’70s. The most well-known of his books is The Prophet which contains 26 short, poetic essays on aspects and issues of life. It was a very meaningful text for those of us who grew up in the ’60s and I was happy to have a conversation about Gibran and his work.

The most meaningful part of the presentation, however, for me and the participants was the reading aloud of some key passages in a few of the essays. The process reminded me of how voice adds meaning to words. One of the women present spoke of the different interpretation she noted from her own previous understanding when I read a section. Hearing it aloud with my inflection made all the difference. So now I will copy a few lines of the essay on love and hope that in some places in the world there will be voices raised in praise of Love, bringing beauty and peace to this day.

When you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God.” And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: to melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night, to know the pain of too much tenderness, to be wounded by your own understanding of love; and to bleed willingly and joyfully. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving…

Birdsong

Tags

birdsong, complex consciousness, complicated lives, dawn, flowers, give thanks, Jesus, Kahlil Gibran, Matthew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust, winged heart, worry

When I woke at 4:35 this morning – much too early to greet the day – the birds were singing so loud I doubted that I would be able to go back to sleep. Fortunately, I did drift off and woke again just before six o’clock. When I did there was absolute silence, a deep breath, perhaps, for the birds – just a pause that brought to my mind and heart a favorite line from Kahlil Gibran: To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. (The Prophet) The silence didn’t last long; the birds are at it again, singing for all they’re worth. In my waking state, I realize their connection to Gibran’s words and consider how willing the birds are just to be themselves. I know all the arguments about how much our lives are complicated by our complex consciousness but sometimes I wish it were simpler to respond to life as the birds do. Jesus talks about that in today’s gospel – and about flowers as well, calling us to recognize how special they and we all are just because we are, rather than for what we can do or achieve. (MT 6:24-34) We needn’t worry about anything but rather trust that we are always held in God’s love. And that was worth waking up for this morning!