Bonfire of Burdens

Woes, up in smoke.

Yesterday’s burdens sit in a heap, fuel for a bonfire. The new day promises light and air.

I thought lightening my load would free me to bear others’ woes. The new load is even harder to bear than my own was.

Lord, can I cast others’ burdens on the same bonfire? What do I act as if they are mine?

What if I walked into the light you promise?

– from the mountain


Consider:

Can I shed even others’ burdens?


Reading:

“To lay a burden down is not to abandon it, but to return it to the ground that knows its weight.” — Wendell Berry, Sabbath Poems

“Compassion that exhausts itself has crossed an invisible line.” — Simone Weil, Waiting for God

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.” — Psalm 55:22 (KJV)


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