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We are called by the Almighty voice
to the small things of our lives
as much as to the great,
to the simple, sweet hours
spent at leisure and at rest,
as much as to the big events
that shake our souls, rend us,
and change our worlds.
An hour spent (say) fishing,
or painting a picture, or doing embroidery
(not that I would choose any of these;
though some of you might)
is worth as much as any great activity
if it is done to the extent of its depth and fullness,
its beauty and truth,
committing fully and communing directly
with the essence of the task that we have chosen
(or that has chosen us).
It’s not in deeply-hidden treasure
that the worth of our lives are measured,
but in the simple joy we find
when we open our eyes
to the grace of God in the moment
that is right there before us.
But to live that grace,
one can’t just keep skipping about the surface;
one has to enter fully
the heart and the soul of the moment.
So, take your work into your hands,
and do it well.
Take your joys
and live them to the full.
Great and small--
all are gifts.
Great and small--
all are part and parcel of who we are.
Great and small,
they ours to share, and feel, and taste,
and know
as parts of those greater beings, those larger souls
we have called our very selves.
jbs
6/7/01 - 4/21/02
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