THE PASTOR'S CORNER FOR JULY, 2020

​On Being Fully Alive

Have you ever tried to be fully present, fully awake,
For more than a moment, fully ALIVE?

To see, really SEE, the tiny birds,
Moving in and out to the not so gentle
Breathing of the tide, reflections following.
Twittering joy or gratitude for the sun,
The wind, the minute creatures
That they seek so ferociously in the sand?
To see them take flight, startled, perhaps,
Or simply for pure JOY.
Winging as one, wings flashing light and dark
As they skim the waves.
Only to land, like a skiff of seafoam,
On the edge of the surf,
Once more to join the waves’ dance?

Have you ever tried to be fully present, fully awake,
For more than a moment, fully ALIVE?
To see the seagull surfing the waves.
To feel the weight of the sun’s warmth on your back?
To smell the sour, salty scent of sand and seaweed,
crab and rock, fish and wood?
To watch the lines of surf, breaking, breaking, breaking,
Ever breaking, as they have since
God first spoke them into existence?

Have you ever tried to be fully present, fully awake,
For more than a moment, fully ALIVE?
To watch the gentle dance of the dune grass,
Partnered with the breeze?
To see the clouds move, hesitant, tentative,
Yet steady, persistent, from land to sea?

Have you ever tried to be fully present,
Fully awake, for more than a moment, fully ALIVE?
It is difficult, this aliveness.
How much easier simply to stay ASLEEP.  AMEN

Carolyn Bowers, Ocean Park Retreat Center, September, 2010