Sunset Meditations: Too Much, Too Many
An evening prayer for those overwhelmed by too much, too many
As the sun sets on another week, we begin our Sunday meditation with a poem from Francis Dorff, read to me in early March by a beloved colleague.
LIGHTENING THE LOAD
Francis Dorff, O. Praem.
The first thing we have to do
is to notice
that we’ve loaded down this camel
with so much baggage
we’ll never get through the desert alive.
Something has to go.
Then we can begin to dump
the thousand things
we’ve brought along
until even the camel has to go
and we’re walking barefoot
on the desert sand.
There’s no telling what will happen then.
But I’ve heard that someone,
walking in this way,
has seen a burning bush.
Spirits of Air & Fire,
I’ve once again piled the logs
too many,
too high,
too tight.
This isn’t my first campfire.
I know that,
if I am not careful,
the dark clouds of smoke
will come rolling out
into the rooms of my life,
scorching hands,
gasping for breath,
blurring vision in tears of discord.
I remember how this feels.
Yet, my (carefully taught) instinct is to pile more.
Ever more. Not enough. Ever more.
{Notice}
Spirits of Air & Fire,
There’s no telling what will happen,
should I remove
one log at a time
from this stone circle,
striking the match only when
there’s enough air
for
a fire to breathe.
You clearly found and wrote this for me! 😊 Thank you, Emilie! ❤️