Opening Up

As we round this one-year mark of our world dealing with the pandemic, I am (like many) looking at the gifts it brought. A year ago, we could have had no idea what was in front of us. The horror and the unintended consequences. Of course, the pandemic affected people in vastly different ways. I am among those who blessedly did not have to face the death of a loved one, the terrible illness, the loss of a job, or home. I did not have to home school my children or work in a dangerous environment. I am among the very lucky ones. And I am grateful for that, of course. Ironically the “lock down” issued in a new sort of freedom for me. I want to remember what it is like not to feel rushed, not to have “too many” commitments. I want to remember how all of us learned to “make do” with what we had on hand. How few things we actually NEED. But most of all, I want to hang onto the spaciousness that was created in my life.

TIME

Time like we’ve had

this last year,

an imposed Sabbath.

Gather it up,

all the time you’ve savored.

Say a blessing over it.

Put some of it in

the stew you are making.

Press some of it between

the pages of your favorite book.

Let some of it just drift

like a cloud forever changing forms.

Paint a picture of

the sacred time you were given

this year. Put it

in a nice frame.

Pour some into your glass

of Cabernet and let it roll

around on your tongue.

Stitch some into

the hem of your skirt

so you can keep twirling with it.

Dig some into your garden

so it will grow. Put a small bottle of it

on your altar.

Remember to worship it.

Make it into a prayer

you recite every day

for the rest of your life.

Penny Hackett-Evans