ONE THOUSAND GIFTS

Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transparent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world. ~ Sara Ban Breathnach

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Week II - Day 3 - The Empty Cup

An empty cup...It is very different, journaling from a cheap motel room (there was a tournament in town) and the comfort of my living room.  At home, I always have my music, candle, and a full cup or flavored coffee as I reflect on a day's reading.

An empty cup.

It is appropriate this morning. I'm waiting until it is time to meet the others.  In the meantime, I truly do have an empty cup. No music or candle.  And, no flavored coffee...

It is just me, and while a moment ago I was wishing for more, I think this may be a gift on this particular day.

Joyce shares that there is a part of her that always wants to be full.  There is a part of her that wants to feel good, to have life go well.  Yes, that is me.  I have wanted this day of voting....to just go away!  I have wanted this day of high emotions...to pass silently.

Yet, here it is...and if I had my hot cup of flavored coffee, I suspect I would be using it to buffer myself in some way.  I would think about the taste.  I would think about how it feels as it slides down my throat.  I would notice how nice it is to hold a warm cup between my hands...

Instead, I've got nothin.


I am an empty cup that is noticing a sense of peace filling up my heart.

I have written about noticing God everywhere...in all people.  Sometimes that is really hard, yet today, from this place of peace, I hope to do a better job than I might have done by first numbing myself with "things that offer comfort."

Many years ago I went to hear a great spiritual teacher speak.  I stood outside waiting to go in and I remember being struck by a strange calmness.  You know how sometimes it feels as though you could "slice the tension with a knife"?  That is the way this was, only I did not want to slice it....I wanted to just feel it...sink into it.

I do not remember a single thing that was said that day, but I have never forgotten that intense feeling of peace.  Perhaps that is one gift I can bring to the gathering today.  As I offer peace, perhaps someone else, once experiencing that peace might offer peace, and when someone...

Breathprayer:
             Breathing in: Filling up......
             Breathing out:......emptying out


Reflection:
...Look into the emptiness
Abide in the emptiness
Do not attempt to fill it with insights or feelings
Open the door to your heart
Go inside and be with God


I have to leave now, and I am not leaving alone.

Once again, this blog, though time consuming, has been a gift.  I would not have spent the time with today's reading if it were not for this blog.  I would have stayed in bed for another hour...

And I would have missed the wisdom within today's reflection.

God, help me abide in the emptiness today without filling it with ah-has from other voices...from speakers.  God, help me to check the thoughts that give rise to feelings...so that I might remain empty.  I like the image of opening the door to my heart and "me" going in to be with you.  You are already there, waiting, if I open the door and go in. God...may I be present with you during this day. AMEN.

Many Blessings ~ Sandi

1 comment:

  1. "Yet, I know that a cup that is always full does not have room to receive. It does not have space to contain anything more than what it already has. Likewise, a cup that is never used or shared will grow stale and tasteless." - p. 52
    This passage hit home. I need to be emptied, so that I may be filled with the Spirit. I need to breathe in and breathe out. I need to be emptied of self and filled with Christ. Lord, help me to leave all of me at the foot of the cross, for I know that I do not need to carry around all the baggage; you will give me what I need for each leg of my journey. Amen.

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