Tuesday's Reflection: Sacred Smiles

So many things have made me smile recently.
*  The Jane Austen bandaids the grands gave me for my birthday.
*  The acrobatic squirrels leaping from windowbox to windowbox outside of our sunporch windows.
*  Bruce bringing me a new coloring book, and grandson Peter and I coloring happily when he spent the night.
*  The cardinal who sits on the ledge of our front stoop.

*   Our collection of carnival chalkware figures who now "live" in high-up kitchen cupboards. I have friends in the kitchen!
*  Brightly colored striped socks--a get well gift from a friend.
*  A stash of mysteries delivered by another friend--perfect for this restless time. 






Finding the Sacred
With each smile I see a glimpse of the sacred. I feel connected to the divine. True, this flash of the divine is evident also when I am touched by someone's fresh pain, such as the young friend of my daughter's whose father died unexpectedly, or when I remind myself to breathe through my own impatience or disappointment or frustration. 

Opportunities for Divine Intervention are boundless. 

Barbara Brown Taylor says, "Earth is so thick with divine possibilities that it is a wonder we can walk anywhere without cracking our shins on altars." (as quoted in Writing to Waken the Soul by Karen Hering, p. 216. ) Or breaking an ankle, I might add!

At yesterday's appointment with my orthopedist I was told I am healing well enough to make the transition from walker to cane. Alleluia! I smiled when my husband emerged from the medical supply store with several choices of canes. I chose a very chic, quite exotic black and white animal print cane. My new best friend. It makes me smile, and I imagine it will make others smile as well.

Is is sacred? Divine? Maybe not, but right now it is a tool of spiritual practice as it helps me bear my own weight and move forward into further healing. It is a source of support and strength and new life. That sounds sacred to me--and it makes me smile.

One More Thing
One never knows where you will find truth and inspiration. I found it recently in a mystery I was reading, the second in the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear. The following passage was just the reminder I needed. Maybe it will resonate with you, too.

         "Tell me, Dr. Dene, if you were to name one thing that
      made the difference between those who get well quickly
      and those who don't, what would it be?…"
       "Well, if I were to name one thing, it would be accept-
      tance."
        "Acceptance? But doesn't that stop the injured or wounded
      from trying to get better?"
        "…Some people don't accept what has happened. They 
      think, 'Oh, if only I hadn't walked up that street when I did,'
      or ….'If only I'd known the ground was that wet and that Fred,
      or whatever his name was, had left his tools in the way.' 
      They are stuck at the point of the event that caused the 
      injury."
        "So what's the answer?"
         "…I would say that it's threefold: One is accepting what
       has happened. Three is having a picture, an idea of what
       they will do when they are better, or improved. Then in the
       middle, number two is a path to follow." 
                                                   Birds of a Feather, pp 220-221

My current path to follow is finding the sacred exactly where I am and using my cane to take me there.
                                                   
An Invitation
What has made you smile recently? Where have you glimpsed the sacred, the Divine? I would love to know.