GENTLE EPIPHANIES OF DIVINE SACREDNESS

When I was a young teen (some may remember that somewhat strange blonde haired girl that smiled seldom and spent a great deal of time by herself), I would wander about Mount Albion Cemetary and Saint Joseph's Cemetary, visiting the older graves and taking the grave stone's rubbings. I used to have some beautiful ones that I did in charcoal and then I would go home and write about the people I "met" there but never knew. It was a wonderful way to understand the past, the present, and hope for the future.

Visiting old cemeteries may seem morbid to many, but it is, truly, very illuminating. They are so still and silent. So quiet. Old cemeteries, in particular, remind us that until it is carved in stone, realizing our heart's desire is possible EVERY day that we recognize what it is that makes us happy. For me, happiness cannot be found in things... but in my family, children, pets... love.

Some of you may remember the movie (taken from the play) "Our Town"... to my younger readers, if you have not seen this movie... I highly recommend it. I know it may be simple and a little slow... but it has such meaning, particularly in these difficult times. In the play Our Town (by Thornton Wilder) a deeply moving scene takes place in (you guessed it) a graveyard. Spirits have come to comfort the main character, Emily, who recently died while giving birth. Emily, who still longs for the life she was required to leave, wishes to revisit just one single ordinary "unimportant" day in her life. (How many times have each of us thought or said aloud: "what I would not give to have just one more day back when or with....". When Emily is granted her wish, she realizes how much the living take for granted. (Oh how much we do take for granted, don't we?)

Eventually, this visit that she longed and prayed for simply becomes too much for her to bear. Mounrfully, Emily confesses to the Spirits that have accompanied her that she did not realize all that was going on... that we never noticed. " Good - by world. Good-by, Gorver's Corners... Mama and Papa. Good - by to clocks ticking... and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths... and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you."

I don't know about you, but I have realized, particularly over the course of these last few years, frought with cancer, financial and family upheavals, and dramatic changes in our country, how much I take for granted in this beautiful world of ours. I was often too caught up in the needs of society and the cares of the world to enjoy all that is actually available to me. Just as new parents, we are generally so caught up in the care and upbringing of our children that we don't take time to really enjoy the special moments of childhood... laughter, love, spontaneity, immagination, etc... and we lose those qualities in ourselves as well. I was never truly a child, most of my friends and family often times state that I was "born old"; think I will make up for it in the time the Universe gives me now. Do you want to come and play?

Currently, I am in my own spiritual season of Epiphany, when the renewal of light and revelation are celebrated. No matter what the faith, all human beings seek everyday epiphanies.. occassions when we can experience the Sacred in the absolute ordinary. In doing so, we come to an awakening, as the character Emily does, that we cannot afford to throw away even more more "unimportant" day by not noticing the wonder of it all.

I have learned that I have to discover and then appreciate those simple moments of happiness that are available to all of us every day. I revel in the beautiful sunrises of an AZ morning... and I love going outside at night to see Orion (where I believe my beloved Doug resides) hanging directly over the front door of my humble but clean and pretty townhome. I have learned to walk with my granddaughter, Tom, my friend Betty, or just by myself on desert trails and be awed by the sudden presence of a jackrabbit, roadrunner, quail, coyote, a herd of deer, or a hawk circkling the earth. I have learned to appreciate the smile of a wonderful grandson, the hugs of a teriffic daughter and granddaughter, the comfort of two furry little shihtzus... and the laughter in a good man's voice.

I have learned to savor the simple moments, because I know I will lose those moments at any time... as can we all.

May this day be filled with gentle epiphanies of divine sacredness. May it be wonder-filled. May it be loved.

"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up -- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had."