The Light of Everything

The other morning, I was walking in the park with my son when we heard beautiful female voices singing "Morning Has Broken", by Cat Stevens. 

 We followed the music and realized that there was a service of some kind in the amphitheater.  The surrounding hillside was filled with people in lawn chairs, listening solemnly as the music filled the air.  We continued walking up the hill to the Veteran's Memorial at the top, which overlooked the amphitheater and surrounding area, and sat on a stone bench to listen.  

Someone was speaking a message about connecting to God and people through music and leaving the earth in some small way better than when you entered.  We realized that this was a celebration of life; a memorial service for someone we didn't know, but whose life had touched others profoundly. As we listened, the whole area seemed to be suffused in light, as if a thousand angels were watching along with us. I was deeply moved and as we walked on, felt that this might be a message of hope for us as well.  By chance, we had happened upon this scene and been blessed by the life and death of a stranger who was deeply cherished by others. We had become part of his life story.

We had connected to something beyond ourselves, something beyond any person sitting at that service.  The Light of everything, that Spirit who binds us together, was and is present, everywhere and always.

One human life well-lived may not seem like much- a tiny spark in a vast ocean of lives, but it is in the connections with others and with the world around us that we make a difference.  Everything we do radiates out in a ripple effect, positive or negative, leaving behind impressions and causing change in the world. 

As I sit here this morning, I reflect on this message and pray that God will direct my path today, that I might create, in some small way, a positive ripple.  Praise for the morning!

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

Sweet the rains new fall, sunlit from Heaven
Like the first dewfall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

-Cat Stevens