The Ebb and Flow of Life
Live a CHARMED Life.
CHARMED
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Daily Passage
Reflections
There is a discipline in caring for things. As I have begun to grow more and more of the greens that I eat, I have entered into a cycle of planting, nurturing, and harvesting, preparing, and eating. I must be mindful and sensitive to keep the cycle going. Solomon suggests truly, “If you care for your orchard, you’ll enjoy its fruit.”
Key here in the whole process are the words “care” and “enjoy.” There is a give and receive pattern that flows so easily through our lives when our lives are in full flow. It reminds me of the beating of our heart and our own breath with our lungs pumping. Our life forces are moving in and out with an easy ebb and flow, keeping us alive. When we give, we move out from ourselves and when we receive, we pull in. A beautiful pattern of love.
Of course this verse that I am focusing on today is a metaphor. The orchard could be anything: your home, your family, your car, your body, your job. When we mindfully care for the people, and things, and even the events in our lives, then we are able to enjoy our life fully. The energy that we send out into the world always returns to us and that is why this saying is true: we enjoy the fruit of our labor.
But we must be mindful of this pattern. Just like the disciple I have to keep when growing my greens, I need the same sort of disciple when tending to this bigger garden I find myself in - my life. Maybe we go through the routine of accomplishing all of the things that we must do on the day to day. We generate a task list (or it’s generated for us), and we go through the motions of checking off the boxes: tic, tic, tic. We do, we get by, where is the joy?
The doing and enjoying are always an option for you. Enjoy each breath. Enjoy each step in the process of doing. Be thankful for that beat of the heart. We have so much. Enjoy the sunrise and the songs of the early birds singing. Be mindful of the seeds that you are carefully planting. How beautifully round or square they are, each with a unique color and shape. Soon they will sprout and grow green, or purple, or red . . . Enjoy that growth and the greenness. Enjoy the taste when you chew. What? you do not grow your own greens? That’s okay, look to what you do do. Each aspect of our existence has a unique beauty. Be mindful of that beauty. It is a gift given to you. Like your breath and your heart beat, it is a part of the natural ebb and flow of your life.
Yes, there is a type of living that is possible if these things are ignored. The heart beats when we don’t take the time to listen - to care - even surprisingly for many years even if we abuse it- but then - the enjoyment is lost too. Vitality slips away. Be mindful of the giving and receiving that is going on in your life. This process is the foundation of life. Think of the computer. With the computer, it’s just on and off. That’s how it works with the non-living. But to be alive is to participate in this push and pull activity. The Earth lives in this way - expanding and contracting - listen to the ocean waves as they crash on the shore and recede. It is the sound of Earth breathing.
The passage today reminds me of something Jesus said to his followers so long ago: “Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them” (Matthew 13:12 NIV). This verse used to trouble me. What? So the rich get richer and the poor poorer - why? Where is the justice? I must be reading this wrong. Now I see! I understand! It’s a mindset and a pattern that we generate. When we become mindful and appreciate that that we have, even in the process of living, enjoyment blossoms and blooms. As we enjoy what is already in our lives, we begin to see more and more of the treasures around us and more and more do we receive. When we let it go unnoticed, we are bereft; we are blind to the blessings - to the fruit. Take care - be mindful of all of the things no matter how seemingly small they seem to you - be thankful and live abundantly in joy. Each fruit that we enjoy is the product of the care we took in the moment before. Take joy in the caring and you will have joy in abundance.
A hymn from the Methodist Hymnal that I feel like singing today:
Bringing in the Sheaves
by Knowles Shaw (1834-1878)
Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve,
Waiting for the harvest and the time of reaping —
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Refrain:
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Bringing in the sheaves,
bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
Fearing neither clouds nor winter's chilling breeze;
By and by the harvest and our labor ended -
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. [Refrain]
Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
When our weeping's over He will bid us welcome -
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Source: The New National Baptist Hymnal (21st Century Edition) #429
care
If you care for your orchard, you’ll enjoy its fruit;
— Proverbs 27:18a
Eight Affirmations of Gratitude
I am grateful for my ability to be thankful.
I am thankful for the sound of my heart beating - for my heart, keeping me alive.
I give thanks for my lungs and the air I breath.
I am thankful for my hands which allow me to do many things that I enjoy.
I am thankful for my life.
I give thanks for my daily to-do list and for the time I have been given to get things done.
I am thankful for the way I care for my “orchard” and for all of the “fruit” I enjoy.
I am grateful that I give freely and receive freely, just as I breathe.
Questions to Consider
How can I be more mindful of the simple blessings in my life?
How can I care more?
What fruits am I enjoying for which I can be thankful?
Blessings
Thank you for joining me. Love and light to you my friends. Namaste.