Peace

 

There are many reasons why I enjoy our quilt retreats.  Our small group is scattered, some are fifty miles that way and the others are fifty miles the other way and I am in the middle.  It's a time twice a year we can be together and laugh, talk issues of the day, books we are reading, share quilt ideas and those that are wonders at the craft have over the years nurtured and taught and encouraged the youngest one of us into becoming quite the accomplished quilter herself. And I love that she refers to us as "you ladies." 

But for me, a full half of the reason I would crawl to get there is the Inn itself, the 146 peace filled acres it's situated on, and the calm that blankets my breathing lungs when I walk in the door.  But mostly it's the keepers of the Inn.  The three ladies who take care of us - me - and who have now become our friends. 

They have created a space and a level of care that brings the whole issue of thinking into a calm focus. I find myself preferring peace over noise and calm over chaos and thinking, caring, empathetic people to those who aren't.  And believe me, in today's world, a world that gets scarier and scarier every day, finding that peacefulness usually requires just staying home, away from people.  "Too much peopling" I find myself saying. 

At the end of this week I'm going to be out of commission for a bit. I don't know how long, my disposition won't let me say I can't do something, I'm more of a find-a-way-to-make-it-work person. But I wanted to leave a post that may be up for a little while.  

And so I leave you, and with their permission, the post our beloved innkeepers posted for the month of October, but really, there are no dates for these thoughts.  

Fleeting Temples
A Blog for October 2023

You may find the title of this blog somewhat curious. What is a “fleeting temple” you might ask. I first came across these words in a poem I read recently from the gratefulness.org website which is based on the work of Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine Monk. If you have never heard of his teachings, you could do a lot worse in terms of spending your time than taking an hour or so to explore their offerings. The poem from which these words are taken is called “Small Kindnesses” by Danusha Lameris. I share it with you here.

Small Kindnesses

I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk
down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs
to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you”
when someone sneezes, a leftover
from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying.
And sometimes when you spill lemons
from your grocery bag, someone else will help you
pick them up. Mostly we don’t want to harm each other.
We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot,
and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile
at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress
to call us honey when she sets down a bowl of clam chowder,
and for the driver in the red truck to let us pass.
We have so little of each other now. So far
from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.
What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these
fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here
have my seat,” “Go ahead-you first,” “I like your hat.”

The beauty of this poem lies in the premise that it’s the little things that ultimately matter and have the potential to turn the tide and help heal what divides us. It doesn’t take much- just a little more mindfulness regarding our daily interactions with one another. We look for meaning and purpose in life, but we don’t necessarily have to go to brick and mortar churches or temples or mosques to find it. We are capable of creating these “fleeting temples” by the way we treat one another. In an era of social and cultural discord, what if the building blocks of our temples, were these small acts of kindness, creating a sanctuary where we could for once trust one another. It’s refreshing to imagine how different we might be, and how different the world might be.

So, in the coming month, I invite you to lay down a foundation of small kindnesses in the world and create a fleeting temple or two on your own. I invite you to imagine a world of fleeting temples popping up everywhere and knowing that a few of them were built with small kindnesses that you extended to someone. We have hundreds of opportunities each day. It is my hope that this reality keeps you inspired.

Take care,
Marcia, Pat, Sharon, and Ryan
Keepers of the Rustic Gate