One of the things that seems so lost in our world today is the sense of awe and wonder. We get so caught up in the day to day minutae of life that we forget to take time to notice the beauty....the beauty not only around us, but also the beauty that IS us. Coming back to beautiful Piegaro and the beautiful people here, it is often easy to see the awesome wonder that is here, to see the beauty of the hills and mountains. To be here in a different season, in winter is a totally new experience of beauty that was not here in Spring, late Summer or Fall, in some places it seems stark, and some amazing in the amount of leaves still present on the trees and how life is still bursting forth even as there is snow, and the chill of frost. It is impossible not to notice that the beauty in winter is different than the beauty in summer.
The beauty of the people changes as well as patterns of living have changed from living in the streets in the summer, to seeing people out on walks on sunny days, and in other businesses avoiding the cold on rainy or snowy days. It is amazing how the culture of community still holds but in a different way. It is wonderful to chat with ladies on a walk and hear their concerns over the darkness of my street, and how I should be safe. I mention how we have opened the entry gates wider, turned on the lights in the apartment entrance and made it quite visible from the town's piazza. The beauty is that we are all sharing ideas, concerns and solutions to percieved problems, in little flashes of time while passing on the street, because they ARE important (people ARE important) whereas in the summer there was time to linger on the benches and chat about such things. The connection with neighbors is still very much there, all the pieces that were there before, but in a new way in this new season.
I like to think that this mirrors ourselves as created beings, we are created in the image of God, and we are so darn multi-faceted. We are not simply souls searching for enlightenment, but we are embodied - having all the needs of fleshly creation - and we are minds seeking to understand all that is in this great world. We are pretty impressive creatures. Just as seeing the village through different seasons and seeing different beauty, seeing the villagers in different seasons and seeing the essential beauty throughout, so it is good to look at self and see the awesomeness and wonder of what God has created.
As many of the women of Mary's Place/Church of Mary Magdalene, I've unfortunately experience physical abuse in my life. It is hard after a few years of that to look in the mirror and see the awesome wonder of oneself as beautiful. And yet we are all beautiful, we are all wonders of creation, it is in forgetting that important detail where we go astray and lash out at others. But there we are mind-body-spirit created beings who are often encouraged to focus on one aspect of our being, and yet we are so complete as to shine through all parts, just as this village is beautiful in all seasons. I had a friend over this evening who got all prettied up for her sweet heart, and so I joined her, getting all dolled up. It sort of amazed me to see myself in a mirror, and to realize that physically I was beautiful, to feel a sweet glow this Sunday when I could understand the words of the sermon, which touched my soul and felt beautiful, to understand that through the struggles of learning a new language I was making incredible progress for one little week which is beautiful. We are all beautiful creations, made to live out our complete being, for as created in God's image, we are creators, we are embodied and we should always know that we are awesome and wonderfully made.
How do you see yourself in a mirror as a beautiful creation?
How do you allow all your senses to proclaim that life is a Good Gift?
What makes you say "Oh God!" with a sense of amazement and wonder that captures the fullness of your creation???? (The opposite of taking the Lord's name in vain)
What do you do, can you do to fulfill your destiny of being created in the Creator's image? Live out your awesomeness???
The beauty of the people changes as well as patterns of living have changed from living in the streets in the summer, to seeing people out on walks on sunny days, and in other businesses avoiding the cold on rainy or snowy days. It is amazing how the culture of community still holds but in a different way. It is wonderful to chat with ladies on a walk and hear their concerns over the darkness of my street, and how I should be safe. I mention how we have opened the entry gates wider, turned on the lights in the apartment entrance and made it quite visible from the town's piazza. The beauty is that we are all sharing ideas, concerns and solutions to percieved problems, in little flashes of time while passing on the street, because they ARE important (people ARE important) whereas in the summer there was time to linger on the benches and chat about such things. The connection with neighbors is still very much there, all the pieces that were there before, but in a new way in this new season.
I like to think that this mirrors ourselves as created beings, we are created in the image of God, and we are so darn multi-faceted. We are not simply souls searching for enlightenment, but we are embodied - having all the needs of fleshly creation - and we are minds seeking to understand all that is in this great world. We are pretty impressive creatures. Just as seeing the village through different seasons and seeing different beauty, seeing the villagers in different seasons and seeing the essential beauty throughout, so it is good to look at self and see the awesomeness and wonder of what God has created.
As many of the women of Mary's Place/Church of Mary Magdalene, I've unfortunately experience physical abuse in my life. It is hard after a few years of that to look in the mirror and see the awesome wonder of oneself as beautiful. And yet we are all beautiful, we are all wonders of creation, it is in forgetting that important detail where we go astray and lash out at others. But there we are mind-body-spirit created beings who are often encouraged to focus on one aspect of our being, and yet we are so complete as to shine through all parts, just as this village is beautiful in all seasons. I had a friend over this evening who got all prettied up for her sweet heart, and so I joined her, getting all dolled up. It sort of amazed me to see myself in a mirror, and to realize that physically I was beautiful, to feel a sweet glow this Sunday when I could understand the words of the sermon, which touched my soul and felt beautiful, to understand that through the struggles of learning a new language I was making incredible progress for one little week which is beautiful. We are all beautiful creations, made to live out our complete being, for as created in God's image, we are creators, we are embodied and we should always know that we are awesome and wonderfully made.
How do you see yourself in a mirror as a beautiful creation?
How do you allow all your senses to proclaim that life is a Good Gift?
What makes you say "Oh God!" with a sense of amazement and wonder that captures the fullness of your creation???? (The opposite of taking the Lord's name in vain)
What do you do, can you do to fulfill your destiny of being created in the Creator's image? Live out your awesomeness???
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