For a year I have been chasing the moon, with my camera and with my soul. Searching for genuine beauty, sensing deeply; heart and soul for authentic love and all THAT means. I’ve been on a spiritual quest for tranquility which leads to a greater awareness of what is grace. Chasing after what the poets, painters and other artists seek, that which is ethereal and elusive, that which is beyond words. Searching for bliss.
Having arrived in this place of incredible beauty and peace with my very American gigantic suitcases which held a myriad of items sacred only to me including my sweatshirt with the quote from Joseph Campbell to “Follow Your Bliss,” even I knew this was a romantic folly. And yet……..
Perhaps that is what we must all look for in this broken world, that elusive thing called love, that thing that so confuses, confounds, confronts and hopefully will consume us. In trying times, in difficult times it seems so hard to find, yet find it we must. For authentic love is the only thing which truly is important. It is what brings together strangers with a smile, unites us intimately with a sincere kiss. All else is the wrapping around this gift in life.
In this season of Christmas it is easy to see where authentic love can get lost in the midst of modern life, just as the miracle of baby Jesus gets lost in the Black Fridays, endless holiday parties and endless tv specials that fill our time. Something so simple, the greatest gift of love for our world gets reduced to the shortest moments of this season which has now spread all the way to Halloween. But search for the miracle we must, for within this gift of love we find hope, faith and charity.
This is a work a day world, always in motion, and when we are feeling utterly exhausted it is also easy to lose the miracle of love to be found in everyday life, to see the blessings to be found in each new day, and to recognize that miracles of love happen each day. It was easy for me to feel tired of institutional life, tired of living more in fear of other’s thoughts than of expressing myself authentically, ultimately I felt like the crabby child in need of a nap. I needed a little moon chasing, a little romance of spirit, ultimately a little time in beautiful Piegaro. Time to rest and remember the spirit of love, the spirit of Christ on earth that led me into ministry those years ago.
Sweet Piegaro is not a perfect place, it is not Brigadoon and it is not Shangri-La, no Piegaro is simply a calm and tranquil village, which some call boring, but for me was necessary. It was here that I could chase the moon, to remember to look for the beauty to be found in large and small things, and to pray daily with encouragement and love of my neighbors. Love is that beautiful circle, the more you give the more you get, the more you get the more you want to give. To be in this sweet town and have people understand that I needed rest and authentically know this was their gift, this is what Piegaro is known for.
In chasing the moon, I found it, full and beautiful, shining over valley, mountain and this gorgeous medieval hilltop village. In seeking authentic love, always here, in our loving God, made evident in people who care for neighbor and stranger, a gift ever present. To live in the romance of life, to live ever seeking, ever giving love, is an eternal romance for us all to pursue…. For we know, especially at Christmas, especially in moments of grace and miracles in our lives, for me my time here in Piegaro, that Love Lives Eternally.
How do you seek for love in our busy world? Where do you find love? How do you experience love at Christmas? Where have you experienced the gift of authentic grace shared by others?
Where
Do
You
See
Beauty & Love?
This is so full of your spirit. I am touched deeply. I accompany you on your search for authentic love. Keep following the moon, it's the pathfinder.
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