Maps

Letter 4361

There is a map of the pathways around the village and up the mountain. The map tells which way one might walk to reach a destination.

From the map, I do not know where I will encounter vistas of beauty, o’erhung trees and bowers, families of deer grazing.

The map is not the place.

❖

Let me go forth, Lord, and walk, and experience what the day will bring!

Consider:

Can I set aside my desire for a map?

Reading:

❖ “The map is not the territory.” — Alfred Korzybski

❖ “Between the idea / And the reality / Between the motion / And the act / Falls the Shadow.” — T. S. Eliot

❖ “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” — Proverbs 3:5

Thank you for for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.

~B.R.

Missing

Letter 4360

The deer I usually see when I cross the field has not appeared for some days. I recognize it by its distinctive markings. Were it not so unique, I would not know it. Were it not absent, I would not now be thinking of it.

What else do I notice only when it is missing?

❖

Let me appreciate and be present to all that now surrounds me, Lord.

Consider:

Can I be more present today?

Reading:

❖ “Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it.” — Thomas Fuller

❖ “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” — Cesare Pavese

❖ “What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?” — Psalm 34:12

Thank you for for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.

~B.R.

Judging the Source of Joy

Letter 4359

Walking uphill with a friend. We laugh. The time goes by so quickly. At a switchback vista, we stop and look. The valley is glowing.

A week ago I walked the same path, and did not stop. My eyes were downcast the whole journey, watching footfall after footfall.

Is the difference the companion? What we speak of? The day, the season? The path has not changed.

❖

Lord, let me find joy wherever it exists, without questioning its provenance.

Consider:

Can I find joy today?

Reading:

❖ “Joy is not in things; it is in us.” — Richard Wagner

❖ “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” — Dalai Lama

❖ “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” — Psalm 118:24 (KJV)

Thank you for for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.

~B.R.

Standards

Letter 4358

By what standards do I judge a meadow? How do I evaluate the river?

During morning chores, so many of my duties involve ordering what has become disordered. Sweeping the porch. Putting away tools left out. Cutting back the hedge.

The meadow grows without consulting me. The river bends as it will. Neither seeks my approval.

❖

Can I learn more about refraining from judgment? Perhaps what is disordered in my thoughts is the river bending as it will. Perhaps my life is a meadow without need of approval.

Lord, let me love the ground within me.

Consider:

Can I judge myself as little as I do the meadow?

Reading:

❖ “Beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” — Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī

❖ “Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise; seek what they sought.” — Matsuo Bashō

❖ “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” — Matthew 7:1 (KJV)

Thank you for for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.

~B.R.