Statue of St. Mary, Please click on image
You know how we become so familiar with someone or something we stop seeing them with fresh eyes? Sadly, when that happens, we rob the other and ourselves of the opportunity to grow together.
In his book, Teachings on Love, Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us, “You may have the impression that you know everything about your spouse, but it is not so. Nuclear scientists study one speck of dust for many years, and they still do not claim to know everything about it.”
Whether it is a spouse, a friend, or even a place, we can become blind to changes, or unexplored attributes. With life-denying arrogance, we form an impression of someone or something and re-experience this image over and over again.
Remember how I told you about buying a statue of St. Mary at the Ave Maria Grotto gift store? Well, when I returned home, I immediately unwrapped the statue and the candle, grabbed my purple cloth bag that contains my rosary beads, and ran down the 99 steps to the “rock deck.”
Facing away from the lake, I surveyed the rocks just off of the wooden deck for Mary’s place. My search did not take long. Just off of the deck was a small formation of large rocks. I took a few steps on the dirt and traced my hand over the surface of the largest rock. Like a blind woman reading braille, I read the naturally-worn, circular indentations of the cold stone. My hands told me that the shape of the base of the statue and the candle matched the grooves in the rock. I placed them in their spots and stepped back.
“Oh my” slipped from my lips. Leaning in front of the rock that held the objects was another, smaller rock–a kneeler. I knelt on its hard surface and prayed. I prayed that bringing Mary here would be a blessing. I prayed prayers of gratitude for having grown up in a home where Mary was honored. I asked for guidance and forgiveness.
That was about all my knees could take. So I pulled up a chair, and facing Mary’s grotto I pulled out my rosary beads and chanted the familiar words.
“Our father who art in heaven…” My the view from this angle is unique. I thought. I feel as if I am deep in the forest.
“Hail Mary full of grace…” It is so cool here under the rock. Birds, squirrels, salamanders flew and scurried among the brush. Daisy lay next to me, head erect as if she too was surveying this new view.
“Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…” How many times had I thought I miss the woods of North Carolina? This gift has been here all along!
I sat in extended silence, relishing the earthiness of it all. Gazing at Mary and the candle I knew I wanted to find a small vase to place a flower at her feet. I blew out the candle and walked back up the steps, grateful for this new gift from an old friend.
Little did I know, the vase was already on its way.
Does anyone else wrestle with this seeing with fresh eyes? I am interested in your experience.
Namaste
Yes, I need this reminder for seeing with fresh eyes. Thank you Mary, and thank you Blessed Virgin Mary, for the gentle, yet powerful, reminder. Peace to all!
Mary, you have been vivid in my mind. Yesterday I watched a live interview with Don Alejandro Cirilo Perez Oslaj–”Wandering Wolf,” Grand Elder of the Mayas. The program began with a dedication to the Heart, the Family and Mary, and then he began to speak about the Mayans. Two things he said I want to share with you:
“It is most important not to forget what the ancestors taught: How to glorify the Creator; To obey and honor Mother Earth–with music, sacred days, and sites. At places on mountains, volcanoes, under rocks, offer ceremonies.”
and
“2012 is not a right date, but it IS part of the teachings. The Fathers don’t return–it’s the teaching that will come back and grow in the mind of each of us–what they wrote in stones, rocks, etc. By listening to words, it’s like you are looking at them–wisdom, not physical beings. Wisdom returns in each of us. It’s coming out into the world now.”
Awesome greetings and blessings to you in Mary’s Grotto!
(I know Nan Jacobs–she sings in the choir at St. Stephen’s–often stands right beside me, doing that advised singing!) Wonder of wonders at what is happening now!!!
Elizabeth