An Amazing Scene That Touched My Soul

At the risk of sounding like a broken record – “ I Love the Fall”! In this brief moment the world comes alive with brilliant colour and there is such power in the experience of just soaking it in. On Monday I drove through the Wentworth Valley and was stunned by the beauty. Rich deep reds, golds and greens filled the landscape and created a picture that spoke to me of life and death; of promise and possibility; of beauty and wonder. There was one spot along the way where people had stopped to capture the magnificent scene on their camera.

I will come back to this scene but first I want to share with you where I was going and another amazing scene that touched my soul. My drive on Monday would eventually lead me to the nursing home in Pugwash where I was given the privilege and honour of once again, walking with another to the end of their adventure in this realm. For the better part of the day we sat in Jane’s room, we laughed and cried, shared stories and remembered. There were moments of great joy and times of deep sorrow. When Jane drew her final breath and set sail for another shore I was filled with peace and I knew that she was free.

When it was time I left to make my way back home. Again I drove through the Wentworth Valley and this time I stopped. As I gazed on the scene before me I thought of my friend. I recalled the ways in which she brought colour and creativity to the world. I thought about her journey that saw her leave her homeland of Holland and find a new home in this land where she replanted and put down new roots. I recalled a special day a few years ago when we sat outside with the sun shining and talked of life and death and the message of hope given us in nature. With all of this resting in my being I gave thanks for the colours of the earth and for my friend who, like the leaves that will soon fall, has returned to the universe and will continue to nourish creation.

In Psalm 96 we read:

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

Today I heard the song of life and the rejoicing of the universe.

In Job we read these words:

But turn to the animals; and let them teach you; the birds of the air will tell you the truth.
Listen to the plants of the earth and learn from them, let the fish of the seas become your teachers.
In Divine love is the soul of every living thing and the breath of all humankind.

Today I felt the breath of the Divine and witnessed the rebirth of a blessed soul.

A Blessing

I leave you with a blessing by Jan Richardson, “Circles of Grace”

In the leaving,
in the letting go
let there be this
to hold onto
at the last:

the enduring love.
the persisting hope,
the remembering of joy,

the offering of gratitude
the receiving of grace
the blessing of peace.

Valerie