◊ Listening to the Excitement (continued)
If things created are so full of loveliness, how resplendent with beauty must be the One who made them!
~ St. Anthony of Padua
If we leave our assumptions and measuring sticks for what is meaningful behind, if we listen loudly enough and let the silence guide us, life becomes a litany of simple and grateful recognitions. We hear the natural, unearned thrill of breathing, the taking in and giving out of the Divine Breath that animates us, the soothing friendliness of a warm shower or a cup of coffee, the reassurance of morning’s first light, the wonder of smiling or sighing, the taken-for-granted gift of gazing or tasting or smelling, the deep satisfaction of good conversation or doing someone a favor or an honest day’s work, the unexpected encouragement of a kind word or a compliment or praise, the shocking inebriation of first love or the humble awe of long love, the steep mystery of embracing someone we’ve dearly missed, of holding and being held, the catharsis of crying, the easy ecstasy of a grandchild, the wide reach of a grandfather’s love or the safe haven of a grandmother’s lap. “All moments are key moments. Life itself is grace” (Buechner, see post November, 19, 2012).
If we listen loudly enough and let the silence guide us, we hear the simple delight of walking or dancing or roller blading, the exhilaration of snowboarding or throwing a behind-the-back pass or hitting a rare homerun, the invigoration of swimming briskly in cold water, the feral elation of swinging from a tree or the monkey bars or the euphoria of riding a bike downhill with no hands. We hear the sense of satisfaction in solving a difficult math problem or finding just the right word for a poem-in-progress, the chance eye-to-eye meeting on a hike with a deer or a falcon drawing invisible circles overhead, the birth of a baby—your new son or daughter or brother or sister or grandchild. “All moments are key moments. Life itself is grace.”
If we listen loudly enough and let the silence guide us, we hear the dreamy deviancy of an afternoon nap, or an unsolicited kiss from our teenage son, the wordless awe aroused while checking on an overtired child finally asleep now appearing more angelic than demon-possessed, the simple joy of singing and making music together or hearing from an old friend, the bliss of cold beer or ice cream or watermelon on a hot summer day, or the wordless rapture of making love or of laughing until our tear ducts spill over.”All moments are key moments. Life itself is grace.”
If we listen loudly enough and let the silence guide us, the listening can be a doorway to delight. I still remember how the house of my childhood shook, and how my face and stomach followed suit, as I lay in bed at night in the basement listening to my dad upstairs laughing at the antics of Jackie Gleason and Art Carney on the Honeymooners. In those moments when the dark house vibrated with natural happiness, life was good and it was a joy to be alive. On such nights, when the laughter penetrates the darkness, even the darkness seems convinced: “Life itself is grace.”
PRACTICE:
•The spiritual life is a way of being in the world that requires practice. Forming “habits of the heart” eventually enables us to live spontaneously whatever it is we consciously practice. I assure you, those who PRACTICE DELIGHT on a daily basis, become increasingly grateful people. It is no surprise they they tend to be delightful to be around as well. Even in the face of struggles and suffering, they sense that life itself is grace.