"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."
-- Eddie Cantor
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In the Celebration Circle we honor and nurture the Sacred in ourselves, each other, and all Creation.
Thank you,
as always,
Gary O Smith,
for sharing
your photos.
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I'm sitting alone beneath a giant cottonwood alongside the Guadalupe River. Like countless trees all up and down this valley, the canopy above has started to turn shades of gold and brown. I'm here because my good friends, Michael Wolf, Roxanne Howell, Zet and I have just finished a lengthy walk-thru meeting at Slumber Falls Camp, talking over our plans for the Circle retreat scheduled for November 7-9. (It's going to be a particularly wonderful weekend. Sure hope you can join us ...) Now we're taking a break, having scattered ourselves along the riverbank to relax and take in the beauty of the day.
Hanging out at the water's edge, with loved ones nearby and not a cloud in the sky, I should be a happy guy. But for whatever reason, I'm feeling stressed by all the things on the To-Do List whirling through my head. The logistics for the retreat and the preparations for our Sacred Art of Altars closing reception Thursday night are both competing for attention with the updates on Circle website, the details for Sunday's service, the stack of phone calls and notes on my desk, and my column for the next newsletter. In short, once again I'm letting myself get caught up in the weighty clutter of my brain, measuring my self-importance by the amount of stuff I have to get done ...
Suddenly a single yellowing leaf flutters out of nowhere, spiraling down slowly just inches from my nose. It lands ever so gently at my feet, joining countless others in forming a thin golden blanket I hadn't even noticed before. Amazed, I lie on the ground and turn my gaze upward to watch other leaves falling, one by one at random intervals. Each leaf seems to whisper some variant of the same message: "Slow down, let go. This too shall pass. Just do what is yours to do right now, and let go of the rest ..."
That was yesterday. Now I'm back at my desk in the office, working on yet another deadline at the computer. My ego's demands and the To-Do list are still here, but so is the clear, quiet image of those leaves floating down, inviting me (as I'm inviting you) to remember: "Slow down, let go. Just do what is yours to do right now, and let go of the rest ..."
With blessings and hopes of seeing you Around the Circle,
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Sundays
THIS SUNDAY
October 5th
"The Sacred and the Secular"
Rudolf shares more of his insights into the nature of spiritual growth, along with a new song and special music from the Circle Singers.
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