"I do not understand how anyone can live
without one small place of enchantment to turn to".
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Monday, August 10, 2009
Life as a bench
Life as a bench The weather beaten bench, still there, becomes a window to our soul. By the green grass and billowing trees listening, always listening, to the stories of the days gone bye... Franca Linardi
We have all taken the walk through the park. We find comfort and peace with the connection of tranquility and nature. The phrase, “clear your head with a walk in the park” is testament to this statement. We are drawn to the wide open spaces because we are drawn into the mystical and magical powers of nature and we feel comfort in surrounding ones self in these places of free billowing trees and flowers and a sense of tranquility and a closeness with God. So we take that beautiful walk in the park, as many of us have often done. But there in the middle of green grasses and whistling trees is a small bench. The structure is slightly bent and its once warm shade of wood has turned grey. There in the middle of our sanctuary is the bench of life. Some of us will sit and listen and be still. Some will be still but not really listen and some will only sit long enough to plan ahead for the busy activities of a tomorrow. Then there will be those who are thrown on that bench, these are the ones that will not sit but sooner or later they will lie down on that bench with no warning or comprehension of why. Some unfortunately will walk or run faster as if to escape the bench, but we can only run so fast from our fears and our truths. Sooner or later we will need to rest and sit on that bench. Then the dams will open and we will have to weather the storm. The bench of course represents our lives. Why are we here, what purpose do we serve? If life is about birth and death, what then of all that happens in the middle. As I sit and contemplate my life at 45 I wonder what I have done. Who I am and I realize it is not enough to live through the motions of the day anymore for me.I want more but truly I really want less. I want to sit on that bench; I want to sit there all day long, no interruptions, no one calling my name, no demands, and no opinions just nothing. I want to connect with who I am, I want to smile at the sun and listen to the birds. I want to feel God all around me, when the wind blows I want to smell everything. I am not content to walk by that bench any more, no more running for me. I want to sit and recall the stillness of my birth, my life and as I go through all my accomplishments and my years. I want to cherish every minute of it, good or bad it is my life. The bench will always be there, waiting for someone else to sit and chat for a while. A place for reflection, choices and spiritual freedom.
Franca Linardi
We have all taken the walk through the park. We find comfort and peace with the connection of tranquility and nature. The phrase, “clear your head with a walk in the park” is testament to this statement. We are drawn to the wide open spaces because we are drawn into the mystical and magical powers of nature and we feel comfort in surrounding ones self in these places of free billowing trees and flowers and a sense of tranquility and a closeness with God. So we take that beautiful walk in the park, as many of us have often done. But there in the middle of green grasses and whistling trees is a small bench. The structure is slightly bent and its once warm shade of wood has turned grey. There in the middle of our sanctuary is the bench of life. Some of us will sit and listen and be still. Some will be still but not really listen and some will only sit long enough to plan ahead for the busy activities of a tomorrow. Then there will be those who are thrown on that bench, these are the ones that will not sit but sooner or later they will lie down on that bench with no warning or comprehension of why. Some unfortunately will walk or run faster as if to escape the bench, but we can only run so fast from our fears and our truths. Sooner or later we will need to rest and sit on that bench. Then the dams will open and we will have to weather the storm. The bench of course represents our lives. Why are we here, what purpose do we serve? If life is about birth and death, what then of all that happens in the middle. As I sit and contemplate my life at 45 I wonder what I have done. Who I am and I realize it is not enough to live through the motions of the day anymore for me.I want more but truly I really want less. I want to sit on that bench; I want to sit there all day long, no interruptions, no one calling my name, no demands, and no opinions just nothing. I want to connect with who I am, I want to smile at the sun and listen to the birds. I want to feel God all around me, when the wind blows I want to smell everything. I am not content to walk by that bench any more, no more running for me. I want to sit and recall the stillness of my birth, my life and as I go through all my accomplishments and my years. I want to cherish every minute of it, good or bad it is my life. The bench will always be there, waiting for someone else to sit and chat for a while. A place for reflection, choices and spiritual freedom.
Franca Linardi
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