a day (off) in the life of . . . .

a day off; nothing special, except, it WAS special; it prepared me for today . . . .

i got up and attended to house chores; the front- and back-yards needed tending; followed by laundry, cleaning, soup-making; filing and reconciling . . . does this sound familiar?  it isn't my regular day-off pattern; i try to do something renewing, and chores are not at the top of my list -- imagine!

and yet, i found myself somehow comforted in the 'doing'; so much so that by 3:30, i was so ready to be done with my chores and headed off for a renewing walk on west cliff dr.

what i saw:  they are repairing the walkway down to the beach (repairs reminded me too much of  my life at church, and so i walked on! -- but not before i noticed the insignia placed on the side of the stairwell -- the word 'open' over a mosaic red heart; ok, it made me think of my life at church again, but in a different way;  ok, so i'm always thinking about my church life; the difference between my life as a pastor and my life as a person is difficult to turn off, but maybe that's the 'god thing' in me; i'm never far away from who i am meant to be!  and that's not a negative in my estimation!)

what i saw:  a number of people walking the way; biking, running, walking, skating; dogs, a bird (how DOES one walk a bird?!) leisurely, driven, communal; this was a beautiful monday to be out and about!  and still, what i came across was a memory.
having grown up in daly city, i seemed to always be surrounded by ice plants, yet i rarely saw them in bloom.  my elementary school, thomas edison (now combined with the twin school next door to form a middle/junior high school) was surrounded by an ice plant hill.  perhaps we had too much fog, and not enough sun for the plants to bloom, but here in santa cruz, blossoms galore!  big, pale yellow blossoms, mostly.
there is nothing like a day which allows one to remember and reflect.  while i would not like to re-live even one of my childhood days (unlike emily in thornton wilder's our town ) my memories yesterday focused on some of those happy times; is there at least one happy memory from your past that made all the difference in the world?!

and i experienced more than a sense of renewal as i awoke this morning.  and then, following my small group encounter, i got a call from someone that shared a poem from mary oliver, entitled the summer day for which, here in santa cruz, we are experiencing today!  i found that poem on garrison keillor's 'the writer's almanac' website.  might this reflect such a day as this?  it reads,

Who made the world?   Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?   This grasshopper, I mean—
the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, 

how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

and life is very good . . . .

it began as a day like no other; the birth of a new day, perhaps like my birth 55 years ago, although i suspect my mom wouldn't feel that way!

and so i begin this reflection on the day before; i suspect when the labor began, but i cannot guarantee that information at the moment, was only a memory when the labor pains ceased.

and so last night i took my time to return home by way of west cliff; just beyond swift, where i usually stop to watch, to read, and to walk.  ironically, the parking spaces were full, as the whales (and their watchers) were out in abundance.

as sunset began, the moon shone as a glimmer on the ocean; the reflection of light and life; the beginning and the ending can be seen in this moment of the day . . . .

and so, as you move clockwise on that shoreline, you come to another part of the sky, between the rising moon and the setting sun . . . .

in-between those two lights, the sky is filled with birds . . . not to be confused with 'for the birds', but the unmistakable movement of various bird clusters as they come and go and return.

of course, the most active flight of the birds is the pelican, in constant search of food; the reward of that unrelenting search.  but these birds in flight to your left are not pelicans, but remain in formation; they move to and fro over the waters between the greater and the lesser light.

unlike our perception that the pacific always points us west, you will note that the rising of the moon and the setting of the sun in the next picture leaves santa cruz facing north/south, not east/west.
and so we turn our sights closer to this day; the setting sun.
 

the wave forms, giving this part of the cliff much more interesting views.  imagine living on the cliff where you could see the rising and the setting of life every day.  the sound of the birds as they communicate to one another.  the ebb and the flow of the water; the sound of the crash against the shore; the renewing of each moment with the freshness of that new moment, filled with possibilities.

when i awoke this morning and walked and readied myself for this celebration of 55 years, i had no idea that my anticipation of the day ahead would be overtaken by the breaking of my car door-locks; over and over again as i tried to enter my car, the alarm would sound and the door locks malfunction.  when aaa arrived some three hours later, last night's sunset was a memory, and my focus became how to attend to my day, now so muddled.

each moment begins with a new possibility of light!  after a time of labor, my 56th year begins, and my experience began with a gift -- the virtues of being in a small group remind me i was prepared for even before i got started this morning; someone shared about the light of this 'birth'day with my group; and so my group at 'the abbey' became a new kind of light for me:  a cupcake from 'the buttery', with a card which read, "you're not really old till you pick up the remote control  . . . hold it to your ear and wait for a dial tone."

and so it goes . . . my car is in the shop; i am at home attending to my day, i have been wished well by many people far and wide; the light is bright overhead; i am grateful to be here, and life -- with all it's complications -- is very good.
 

wedding surf in big sur

changes on the coast, like changes in our lives, happen suddenly and in an instant.

we never known when we might discover the best possible moment; a photo, a chance meeting, an unexpected opportunity ... are we prepared, are we ready, are we willing . . . .

this week-end i experienced a wedding in big sur, an area of california i hadn't really explored before.  i didn't exactly get lost, but i never found the wedding rehearsal or the dinner.  but the coast was a picture!

the fog began to roll in, as it does on the coast; feeling at a loss for directions, a managed to make my way back and forth and back and forth; ever feel like that?!  you get just to the edge, and suddenly, you are just not quite there.

fortunately, that was friday, and the wedding wasn't until saturday at 5.  what is a pastor to do?  pack it in for the day, and start over again in the morning?  you bet 'cha!  so that's what i did.

but never pass up the opportunity to find the light in the haze or the movement of the ebb and flow of life.

in the midst of the rocks is an answer to the where and the why.  if we do not stop to contemplate, then we may never know the true extent of the mystery.  take that extra moment, and be open to the possibilities, even when plans don't go as, well . . . planned!

saturday arrived in big sur, and no matter what, i was going to find the location of that wedding!  with all our gps systems in place, one reality rings true on the coast of big sur . . . . the words "no service" are seen a lot!  so the best way to go is the old fashioned way ... get an address!

OH!  there it is; i'd passed this spot several times on my adventure; do you ever do that?!  and then suddenly, as if out of a fog, there it is; the beauty and elegance of "the right place".

and this wedding location, like the couple themselves, was 'the perfect combination of beauty and elegance; simple and down to earth, and nothing could be better!  by 12:30,  i knew where i was to be by five; and i made it there in plenty of time; to prove it, i captured the sun as it reflected on the surf.  like a mirror disturbed only by the whale spouting some water, and the ripples of the tide.

nearby the 'wind and sea', was the perfect place to wait out until 3:30.

and so i read; i am on the second mystery by barbara corrado pope, entitled the blood of lorraine. i have my new library card, and i'm using it!  pope's mysteries take place in france, and this one deals with anti-semitism; the main character is the magistrate bernard martin.  the first book in the series was cezanne's quarry, and it is easy to get 'hooked'; in this way i get to be an 'armchair adventurer.  reading on the coast was ideal!

following the wedding, as the dancing was just about to begin, i left, leaving the women to change into flip-flops for the occasion; dancing in high-heals my be fashionable, but not on gravel!  and so highway 1 beacon-ed to me.  as i left the sun of big sur, i watched as the fog rolled in over the surf once again, but this time, engulfing the industrial works that sat atop a land-mass.

i thought of kellie and tom as they began their new life together; how we never know what might come in our path; and chances are, that path will change hundreds of times over the course of their developing relationship.

and yet, they have the journey ahead of them before the sunset.

the adventure is just beginning in a relationship filled with possibilities.  the light shines, and the night has yet to consume it!