atop a mountain, catching my breath i face Sky, and thank Her for wonder
Wonder-ing and awe-ing keep us grounded. I came to know this (a few days) after I reached the summit of Sun Mountain, a little cone on the east side of Santa Fe. I was out of breath and had a pain in my side that felt like a hot knife had pierced me and was just hanging out for the ride. I was frustrated, annoyed, and angry at myself for being so weak when I longed to be wild.
It was not that I was out of shape. Well… okay, maybe a little out of shape. As I have had some time to reflect on this day (much of this writing has been added two days after initially posting), I wonder if the stress newness is beginning to hit me. I am new to Santa Fe, new to the Southwest, new at my current calling as a minister for youth and the environment, newly out of graduate school, newly courageous to put my thoughts out in public, new, new, new, and ___. That is me falling over.
Even in the natural world, those Beings newly emerging to greet the sun, sometimes fall flat and shrivel. Their roots are not yet grounded enough to give them the strength to face the sun’s full glory. I, too, had fallen flat and shriveled as I emerged over the peak of Sun Mountain.
But then, I looked up at Sky and oh, that hot knife in my side fell away. I inhaled deeply, Her sweet fragrance calming my every nerve. I could breathe again, resting in the wonder evoked by the New Mexico sky. Even though being new and in transition can be exhausting, I need to remind myself to awe and wonder. Wonder-ing and awe-ing keep me grounded so my roots can start doing what they need to do.
Who awakens that wild wonder in you? Where did you find wonder today?
Disclaimer: This mountain summit was really like a-the Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain-type situation… not really a mountain-mountain. Wildly wondrous regardless.
O Great Mystery, keep me rooted
O Great Mystery
Who evokes wonder in us
in the midst of
Your ineffable awesomeness
help me to stay grounded
so that when storms come
or newness springs forth
i may rest firmly rooted in You
