I've been sitting outside for the past half-hour breathing in cool, clean air.
Bliss.
No respirator mask in sight - just the freedom to be outdoors again. This fire season has been unrelenting. And then yesterday the winds changed direction...a small front came through...and the reds and oranges of the DEQ measuring system gave ways to yellows and sweet green - clean air. It is probably too early to call an end to fire season. But this oasis has been delightful.
Learning to savor these moments in the journey is a growing edge for me. Back in the day, I remember a mentor telling me to savor those quiet moments in ministry and life and resist the temptation to fill them with things to do. "Cherish those quiet moments - they will soon be replaced with the chaos of parish life. But if you stop and savor them when they find you, you will be better able to walk through the chaos. Whatever you do, don't chase them away with busyness!" My ever-vigilant inner manager quickly responded that the best thing to do in those quiet moments was to catch up with unfinished tasks!
I have spent decades chasing quiet moments away with busyness. But slowly, ever so slowly, I'm learning how to let them find me.
Fr. William McNamara often wrote about the need for holy leisure - doing absolutely nothing with God. I remember thinking his advice bordered on malpractice! And now...
...now I'm learning to sit out on the deck and be ever-so-quiet so the quail will parade past me with their young and the hummingbirds will come to the planters on the deck and all the little birds in the big spruce tree will sing with abandon while I take deep breaths of clean air and offer thanks for the oasis of God's creation that is now.
Tomorrow will likely be a busy day. And the smoke may return. Best to cherish this moment while it is here.
Resting at the oasis,
Kim
