Sometimes I feel like a firefighter, carrying a huge water hose to put out fires. I never know what a day will bring, and most weeks contain a number of crises, some days even do. Whether there’s money missing, someone has relapsed, or the shortage of dollars to do our program, my mind is usually on overdrive with about 10 plus plates spinning all the time. Some of the crises are devastating, some conjure up terrors of a monumental collapse. And I’m not even exaggerating. When people ask how I am or how things are going, I often say, “Pick an adjective, any one will fit.” And I’ve found that my learning curve has no curve—it’s just straight up.
I went to the labyrinth one day because of the pain I was witnessing, my own pain, and the pain in the world. There was a lot of ugly stuff. The journey in to the center of the labyrinth is usually a time for shedding and letting go. On our labyrinth, it’s often a time when I free the path of weeds. Weeds can shroud beauty. After the presence in the center, a sense of freedom often comes, a clearer sight of the goodness and call.
This time my being needed beauty first. The weeds disappeared from my awareness as I my eyes took in iris, the buds on the peony bushes, the beautiful rocks, the green carpeted lawn, and towering trees, and chorales of birds and whispering trees caressed my ears. After I paused in the center and began my journey out, the weeds came into focus. I smiled at them and gently dislodged them from the pebbles. Now the difficult, disappointing, and painful didn’t seem so daunting, because I had first let the beauty nurture and heal my soul.
So, from now on, it’s Beauty first!
- Joy Bergfalk, June 8, 2013
we have it fully insulated and heated, of course. We are doing this work step by step as funds are available - all of it in an environmentally-friendly way.
