“It might seem to you that living in the woods on a
riverbank would remove you from the modern world. But not if the river is
navigable, as ours is. On pretty weekends in the summer, this riverbank is the
very verge of the modern world. It is a seat in the front row, you might say.
On those weekends, the river is disquieted from morning to night by people
resting from their work.
This resting involves traveling at great speed, first on the
road and then on the river. The people are in an emergency to relax. They long
for the peace and quiet of the great outdoors. Their eyes are hungry for the
scenes of nature. They go very fast in their boats. They stir the river like a
spoon in a cup of coffee. They play their radios loud enough to hear above the
noise of their motors. They look neither left nor right. They don't slow down
for - or maybe even see - an old man in a rowboat raising his lines...
I watch and I wonder and I think. I think of the old
slavery, and of the way The Economy has now improved upon it. The new slavery
has improved upon the old by giving the new slaves the illusion that they are
free. The Economy does not take people's freedom by force, which would be
against its principles, for it is very humane. It buys their freedom, pays for
it, and then persuades its money back again with shoddy goods and the promise
of freedom.”
Wendell
Berry, Jayber Crow
________________________
happy dog roars through the house
prancing, rushing, whining
playing with his
new ball
so much urgency
to be on his way
slipping along the road
roaring through the snow
nose down
in an orgy of smells and textures
rushing from one stick to another
ecstasy
one twisted piece of juniper barely tasted
before he is on to the next morsel
“I watch and I wonder and I think”
as I sit here on the 3rd day of Christmas
about the way we roar through life
we plunge into fall, scattering summer before us
as a the trees scatter their leaves
and barely breathing we roll through fall
from Halloween, to Thanksgiving
and into Advent
as season of waiting and reflection
which is sadly lost in the urgency
until some of us finally stagger exhausted into
Christmas Eve Services, where we take as desperate gasp of
spirituality
And then return to the chaos of Christmas Day…
But now here we are
The day after the day after the day
And the days of Christmas stretch before us
Pleading with us
Stop
Breathe
Think
Take a moment to find yourself again
And place your feet firmly on the earth
Mountain pose
Stop Breathe Think
Of things mundane and things deep
Stretch wide your hands, your arms your heart
And let the faint rays of winter light
Creep into the crevices
And dark spots
And the lightness
of the snow flakes
Life your souls
Stop, Breathe Think
Then journey on gently
Like the Magi
An epiphany awaits
No comments:
Post a Comment