[Fireworks over Coney Island, 2013]
Last week after my neighbors turned off their lights, I lay on my backyard hammock hoping to see shooting stars. Light pollution, clouds, and an inconveniently placed maple tree meant my total score after several nights’ watching was exactly one meteorite, a singular sight I will always treasure.
Despite that disappointingly tiny total, those quiet and alone and held hours were’t in vain though; oh, no. Staring at Mystery? Never a waste of time. And then there was that whole Hammock Thing and being gently rocked, soothed, an effective sleep therapy I’d love to somehow duplicate in the depths of winter. (How is a lower-case mystery.)
One night ‘round midnight a neighbor disturbed the quiet to practice his/her sax; “Misty,”mostly. (He/she had a little trouble with that ballad’s endearing jog, right at the beginning, that wider-than-usual span between the “at” and the “me.”) My first, crazy reaction? “”Be quiet! You’ll scare away the meteors!”
But that’s The Thing about being alone in a hammock in the (relative) dark to contemplate the heavens. You get to deconstruct your craziness. (In space no one can hear you say stupid stuff.) And here’s where I got to: Although a Quaker and therefor all about silence, my sensibility is mostly about living in a peopled —and beloved—city and, apparently, eternally braced against noise.
Oh.
Ah, but to let my earth-bound sensibility move up, away, out; to let myself embrace the silence of the spheres; what a trip!
Dear Patricia,
Hi, there, Patricia, my so, so very dearly special and preciously dearest sisterfriend who you are For Always so, so very much! Wow, I love this very inspirational, insightful, and beautifully composed with such well-crafted written words in which you have created for all of us as your very grateful and appreciative readers! I love this so, so much!!!!! Sister, I goofed! I forgot to check and to look at the night sky when the meteorites were out-I thought I had heard about this on the news I think. Wow, what a holy and blessed moment, and such a greatly grand and fun time you had as you gazed upon our Very Good and Great God’s dark carpet in the sky with its radiantly bright hoping to see shooting stars. I am so glad that you did see the one meteorite, though, after all of your hard work of checking all of those nights, Patricia. You are so right that those moments are very much indeed precious with those quiet, alone, and held hours in your cool hammock embraced by our Good God Spirit’s Love. I am just so very inspired, Patricia, at how you stared at our Loving Spirit’s Great Mystery that can only For Always bless you as it would also bless all of us to do so in enjoying in sheer delight God’s Beautiful Creation. This endeavor is for sure as you so wisely said, sister, never ever a waste of our time, Patricia! Wow, you have made me so very blessed, inspired, and uplifted in my very day as I get started this early morn! I so enjoy reading your blessed and inspiring blog post articles and joyfully responding to them with my comments! Sister, you bear such a powerful Christian witness and get me moving in joy with my walk with our Great and Good God Spirit! You For Always help me to be a good Christian woman, my sisterfriend Christian! Thank-you so, Patricia!!!!!!!!!
You have given all of us a great idea to For Always never ever forget or to be too busy to take the time to embrace the silence of the spheres. As you know so very well from your delightful spiritual and religious experience as a Quaker it is very much indeed vitally important and necessary to be all about silence while at the same blessed moment welcoming the peopled noise that shows all of us just living and being together with one another in shard beloved community and God’s spirit. Patricia, you have gotten my spirit energized, renewed, rejuvenated, and reinvigorated! I feel ready to meet my day now for certain, sisterfriend!!!!!! Thank-you so, sister!!!!!!
My precious friend, please have a wondrously wonderful Wednesday, and may all of your days be so, so very especially blessed!!!!!! I so look forward in very eager anticipation for more of your very inspirational and blessed writings! Patricia, you and your deep writings are such great blessings and such a gift of the Spirit from our Powerful and Most Sweet God!!!!!! I almost forgot, sister!!!!!! I know that right now my Cleveland Indians are playing your Boston Red Sox. Boston Red Sox. Boo!!!!!!! Just kidding,sister-I am a good sport and very sportsmanlike. I do hope that the Indians can win, though(SMILE!!!!!!)
Very Warmly and Sincerely For Always, my dearest white sisterfriend, Patricia, with our Good God’s Peace and Love to you For Always, with Blessings and Even More Blessings To You For Always my sisterfriend Christian,
Your Christian lesbian black sisterfriend For Always in solidarity, Sherry Gordon
What a beautiful scene to imagine!