Dark to Light Cometh

Today’s early peek at the world is especially thrilling to me.  I’m not sure how long it has been since I awakened feeling so alert and maybe even energetic…how wonderful!  All the lights are out and the keyboard is in my lap as I sit in the living room easy chair.  For some reason I feel completely safe and secure in this early darkness…actually, for most of my life I’ve been afraid of the dark.

I looked around in the darkness and realized my comfort and sense of security come from the fact that I know every nook and cranny of this old house…I helped lay every piece of wood on the floor and have painted the walls three times in six years…I have replaced every light bulb and dusted every piece of art countless times…I peeled the stupid contact paper off the worn-out Formica countertops and had new tops installed. The word familiar comes to my mind. 

It was I who removed all the matching maroon venetian blinds throughout the house and let the sunshine in.  I wonder how long it had been that the dark of the 1970’s brown shag carpet and the dark window shades had hidden the light? 

And then in the present quiet of this morning, I find myself thinking of friendship this same way…how familiar it feels when friendship is ‘old’, like the walls of this house.  How reassuring the familiarity of an old friend who has new clothes and thinks in contemporary patterns but underneath, within the old soul is the same caring, sharing, faithful friend.  How secure to have a history where trust has not been broken, where caring has been sincere, where there are few secrets (only the secrets that are of our most private part of the soul…the things that involve no one else and are needed to maintain self-dignity).

Because I will one day, soon I hope, walk away from this old house and into a new adventure, I am no stranger to the present wonderings of my mind.  Where wilI I sit and write one day soon; where wilI I watch sunrises and sunsets; where will breakfast be enjoyed…the breakfast bar, patio, in my compfy chair?  Where will my sweet partner and I walk hand and hand the first time he visits?  So many wonderings...so many wonderings!

These quiet hours are so inspiring, and they calm the way to begin the day.  I sit during these times and ask the Creator of this huge beautiful world, “...tell me the secrets of this day…who may I trust?  To whom do I make my appeals should the day go unexpectedly lonely or anxious or contentious?  What will making new friends be like in my new city?  So discernment is prudent…a safety net.

Creator of the Universe, today, may I discern the true, the verified, the innocent, the legitimate, the authentic souls and spirits of the world around me.  And may I offer authenticity to those whose lives I touch today.

Bring morning, Creator, I am ready to face it and envelop its experiences…One day at a time. I’m breathing…every new day I breathe easier. 

October 8, 2016