I was called by the moon. It was so big and bright last
night, so magnificent in the deep, black sky. The dense light of the North Star
at the top left corner of its space kept vigil watch over the royal
illumination. The moon sat there, an ominous presence, inviting me too, to sit
in space and share her beauty. I felt the pull in my heart, yet I was too
tired. I recoiled from the invitation with the innocence of a child believing
in tomorrow.
I descended the steps to my basement abode and covered
myself with the pile of blankets on my unmade bed. There I fell into sleep. The
mental and physical stresses of the day had me crippled by their grip and
really, the only thing I could manage at that moment was to fall between the
bed sheets of the dark, cold basement bed.
I asked the moon for forgiveness and promised to join her
later. “Just a little rest,” I explained, the words trapped in the spaces
between my bones, and I ventured into the dark cave of deep, heavy sleep.
The alarm went off at 4:30. it seemed it had only been a few
minutes since I had collapsed into bed. I got up, pulled an over-sized shirt
over my night gown, beckoned George to follow, and got into the dew damp car. I
meandered through the dimly lit streets of town to get my coffee, then, with
urgency, followed the moon out of town.
I felt I couldn’t get to a big open space free of the safety
lights of civil organization fast enough. The morning light was pushing at the
horizon and I knew the moon’s watch would soon be over. I had to sit with her!
I had to honor her call! It felt instinctual, natural, absolute, and outside of
logical thinking.
The warm coffee filled my chest with pleasant comforting
heat and served to open my eyes into waking consciousness. My intent was
deliberate: I had to get to a big empty space on earth so I could sit beneath
the moon before dawn was in full bloom.
Ah! Finally I arrived! I parked the car at the wooded edge
of an open field and walked through the cool damp grass enjoying the cascade of
sweet, wet kisses all over the tops of my feet. I spread a blanket and sat down
to share some time and space with the moon.
Nothing spectacular happened in the cosmos of my soul – no
great epiphany revealed as I sat and connected my eyes to the beam of her
light. I just sat and noted the weightless sensations of my mind.
As I watched her bow to the dawn of a new day, there was an
absolute knowing in my whole being that I had done the right thing by
responding to her invitation.
She has gone into retreat now, gone to bless other beings on
the other side of the earth. My friends in Japan, perhaps – will they too, see
her beauty tonight and look her way? Indeed, some of them will. This knowing
penetrates that place in my heart that draws a spontaneous smile.
This universal connection of past, present, and on-going
infinity dwarfs those tangible and immediate details that paw and grope at me
as the daylight hours move me through another day. This perspective provides me
with new eyes, new energy, new resolve.
The moon invited me to sit with her so she could give me the
gift of peace. What a beautiful model she is for me! This is the gift I want to give to others.
Can you strip from your eyes the confines of my earthly body
and the entrapments of matter that we mistakenly think actually matter and hear
my invitation to come and sit? I am calling you: come and sit with me. That’s all I ask, come and sit awhile, and
let’s see what happens.
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