The sun is shining this morning after a very clear-sky night.
I was up about 2:30 and truly was amazed at the shadows in the yard. The moon was so bright once again, as it can be when the sky is clear of clouds, and it always stops to cause me to ponder.
I stood in the room and gazed out of the window, into the night. I could see the yard and the trees and the lawn. In wonder, I pondered the clarity of Mother Nature in this moment. I raised the gratitude scale quite significantly.
I purchased one of the Inverness Marathon pictures of myself as I was coming into the finish. I want to create a shadow box with the finisher medal and shirt when I get them. They could not be presented at the finish line because of war somewhere in the world, I believe. Because of unrest someplace, somewhere, the container that was carrying the medals and T-shirts was held up. The ripple effect.
We think what goes on in other places has nothing to do with us until it does. I am just finishing a book, an audiobook, called The Nightingale, and it accounts what I am sure is a fictional story of a woman who aided and helped a plethora of people survive and escape during the Second World War. Her sister helped 19 Jewish children be hidden with the help of people forging papers and a nun who was willing to risk herself and the safety of the whole convent. I cry. I cry each time I read these books and I think to myself, “Why am I putting myself through this?”
I know the answer. I read and listen because I must remember what that war was like. The terrible way humans treated other humans during those years. The millions of people herded and so sadly extinguished and disposed of. I must put myself in the discomfort of hearing the words read if only to slightly feel something, a minute fingernail of pain in comparison. I must so I can somehow be a bit of light in the world for anyone who needs to be supported and cared for in their pain.
I do not care about the finisher medal or the T-shirt. What I care about is the picture. The flag proudly worn on my back to reveal I am from a country that cares for humanity and opens our doors to those who are struggling in these countries where humans are still treating other humans in inhumane ways.
Last night, in the silence of the night, I was thankful to what I refer to as ‘God.’ The great equalizer called Mother Nature and Father Sky; the great divine energy that holds us circling the sun and holds the moon in place for us to see every month, if the clouds allow. When it is bright and shining, I am grateful there are no clouds, knowing next month it could be obscured and hidden from my view. So, in the moment, I am grateful.
I am grateful for my coffee, for my life and for the moon’s bright hope in the light it sheds. I am grateful for my family and my car and the fact I can go to work and run each day. I am grateful I am a Canadian, an Irish Canadian whose ancestors fought the fight to come to this country and set up roots.
I am hopeful our world may begin to reap the benefits of my vision, mission and values as I send out light and love. Can you also join me? This Easter week, this major Christian celebration week, turn it into something you can grasp. Hear the story that even when something bad happens, death occurs, we can rise again to be a message of hope and connection. Let’s resurrect goodness, love and joy. We can do it. Together, we can do it.
Cynthia Breadner is a teacher, author, grief specialist and bereavement counsellor, a soul care worker, and offers specialized care in spiritually integrated therapies. She lives and works in the Bradford West Gwillimbury area as a long-term care chaplain assisting with end-of-life care for client and family. She is the mother part of the #DanCynAdventures duo and practises fitness, health and wellness. Her book, In Stillness: Short Stories from a Life Well Lived, is a compilation of her work and available from Nancy’s Nifty Nook and Health Food Store in downtown Bradford. She is available remotely by safe and secure video connections. If you have any questions, contact her at [email protected] or visit breakingstibah.com.
