by Derek Wolcott from Collected Poems: 1948 - 1984 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC)
The time will come
When, with elation,
You will greet yourself arriving
When, with elation,
You will greet yourself arriving
At your own door, in your mirror,
And each smile at the other’s welcome,
And say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was yourself.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
To itself, to the stranger who has loved you
All your life, whom you ignored
For another who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
The photographs, the desperate notes,
Peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
And each smile at the other’s welcome,
And say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was yourself.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
To itself, to the stranger who has loved you
All your life, whom you ignored
For another who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
The photographs, the desperate notes,
Peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
The idea of sabbath, a day of rest, is an important and common idea in many faiths. Joan Chittister talks about the idea of holy leisure-- not the lounging on the sofa eating bon bons in front of the television type of leisure (although that could qualify depending upon the circumstances). Rather, holy leisure is when we take time out from the busy-ness and routine of our lives to ponder our place in creation, to glimpse the big picture, to consider if we are on the path to becoming who and what we're meant to be.
One step on this journey is not only recognizing, but also accepting that we are not God and therefore are not perfect. Often our imperfections give voice to the inner critic in us. For many of us, we are far more generous with others than we our with ourselves. So on this Sunday, even if you don't spontaneously find yourself at the place Derek Wolcott describes, consider what you need or want to give yourself today. Take some time to sit, to feast on your life. Take some time for holy leisure.
It is tempting to set an adversarial relationship between Merton's true self and false self. We have been formed by a lineage of dualistic or binary thinking. How refreshing-- the gentler approach--to have that self that is found in the space around my thoughts welcome that self which remains entrapped in egoist thinking. One step closer to wholeness, God willing.
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