a river of goodness

 

There is a river behind my house that flows southward. The Indians who lived here before  called it Thronateeska, which means flint picking up. A swampy flood plain separates us from the Flint when it rises. In the winter, I bundle up and walk to a spot on the bank of the river to see what come to mind. There is an old dead tree that has fallen that is perfect for sitting. It takes about 15 minutes for my mind to slip to a different gear. This is the place from which I write. This is the place where the winter white sun becomes a candle perched in a tree of my wooded chapel.

Walking a labyrinth is another way to reach this place. I once walked a small one in Woodstock, New York and I took my estranged sister with me in my mind. Before long, I heard this: "Your sister has never felt loved for a day in her life." I knew this was true and wept inwardly for all the years that she carried this burden like a dead corpse on her shoulders. Never loved.  

On the West coast of the island of Iona in Scotland, I stepped foot on a labyrinth on the beach. The path was made of round stones of the most amazing colors. This is where Columba landed centuries ago to bring the good news to this rough land. Immediately, my shoulders lowered, every muscle in my body relaxed in a way I have never felt before. And then I heard this: "Your center is goodness: a fountain of goodness. Do what you can to let it flow: how can you prime it and make it more?"

What an extraordinary thing to hear. Do I believe that my center is one of goodness ? Do you believe that about yourself?

Within a few days of this, a poem came to hand by Antonio Machado called "Last Night I had  Dream" 

"Last night I had a dream-

a blessed illusion it was-

I dreamt of a fountain flowing

deep down in my heart.

Water, by what hidden channels

have you come to me, tell me, to me,

welling up with new life

I never tasted before?.................

Last night I had a dream-

a blessed illusion it was-

I dreamed it was God I'd found

deep down in my heart."