Connections-redux A repost from 2009
Introduction
Today we talk about Connections–those things or experiences that connect us with the divine. What follows is a piece I wrote way back–August 25th, 2009. This was the second post I added to my Laughing Matters blog–a blog designed to help me work my way through Julia Cameron’s book God is No Laughing Matter. I never did much with the Laughing Matters topic, but rediscovered this piece this morning in a conversation with author Blake Allwood. Rereading the post helped focus my mind on things I need to do to keep myself sane. Reading the list below reminded me of so many things that are meaningful to me.
Changes from then to now
And as I did in my 2009 conclusion, I recommend that you take the time to make a list of your own “favorite things.” Mine haven’t changed all that much over the intervening twelve years. Gypsy and Minnie are now waiting at the Rainbow Bridge, but Taz and Simon are filling the same needs. The Rogers 321 is now in my house, and I still love playing it.
Below is a quotation taken from Cameron’s book. Use it as an introduction to my own list, and use it to focus on your own.
The world is meant to be savored. It is filled with exquisite delights. This earth is the body of God, as we are. By savoring the delights of this earth, we connect to the divinity that flows through it and through us. Sight leads to insight. Hearing leads to being here. Touching puts us in touch. Scent brings us to our senses. Please list fifty particular things that you savor.–Julia Cameron, God is No Laughing Matter
The First Ten Connections
2) My bowl of café-au-lait, topped with cinnamon, first thing in the morning
3) The hot water falling on my neck and shoulders in the shower
4) Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto
5) The rich grape scent of a bearded iris
6) Spending face time with Gypsy
7) The exquisite silence of the forest when cross-country skiing
8) The sound of water racing over rocks
9) The tendrils of leaves hanging from the willow outside my window
10) Kevin’s smile
Connections Eleven through Twenty
12) Opening a new book
13) Feeling the breeze on my bare skin
14) The smell of a fresh cinnamon roll
15) The Golden Gate Bridge
16) The quiet hum my Saab makes driving with the top down
17) The perfection of a dandelion gone to seed
Missoula, Montana
19) Playing the Rogers 321 at Norm’s house
20) Sitting quietly in the lawn swing
Connections Twenty-one through Thirty
22) The call of the Western Meadowlark
24) Bad puns
25) Sunflowers
26) Crawling into bed between freshly laundered sheets
27) Tulips in the spring
28) Good conversation with friends
29) Filling the dining table with good friends and good food
30) Watching the flames in a campfire
Connections Thirty-One through Forty
31) Chipmunks
32) Pineapple, fresh from the field
33) Homemade split pea soup, especially Potage St Germain
34) Watching the sun set over the Pacific
Smith River, California
35) Feeling the pull of the wind on my kite strings
36) Hugs
37) Tears of joy
38) Biting into a crisp, juicy apple
39) The feel of a hand-woven silk scarf
40) The silky smoothness of Minnie’s fur
Connections Forty-One through Fifty
43) The sight of fishing boats at Port Orford, Oregon
44) The graceful way a surfer rides the ocean waves
45) Hang-gliders drifting on the air currents overhead
46) Being on stage with the Missoula Gay Men’s Chorus
47) Wearing my white tie and tails
48) The sun, shining through the rain
49) Colorful sunsets
50) The way the evening sun lights up a building
Taken 4/19/2007
Missoula, Montana
Conclusion
