it is 4.00 am

i am fully awake!

the very early, thick, dark hours of the morning

poked me and nudged me

beyond the confines of my room,

my space.

birds are already in full swing,

singing their lauds.

joining in, I exited the house that beheld me through the night

and I sat on the white plastic chair

in the veranda,

with a cup of hot green tea.

tuning in, centering down, I listened …

true silence is not the absence of sound

but the fine tuning of the soul to the other sounds

that normally go unnoticed!

with each gentle sip of hot, green tea,

an utterance of gratitude

whispered, exhaled …

today, the 8th of July

i am grateful

for mother and father who gave me life

for brothers and sisters who coloured my life

texturing it and weaving it into uniqueness

today, the 8th of July

i am grateful

for the teachers who taught me

and the many who formed me

for the many who allowed me into their life

in good times and in bad times

in sickness and in health

today, the 8th of July

i am grateful

for the many times of consolation and radical joy

and also for the heavy, dark times of desolation and deep sadness

i am grateful for the many who allowed me to minister to them

and grateful for the many who ministered to me

today, the 8th of July

i am grateful

for the birds, already awake at 4.00 am

now singing their amen

i am grateful for the roses – their velvety petals

and the necessary thorns that make them roses

i am grateful for each and every single blade of grass

and the soil that welcomes them all,

no questions asked.

i am grateful for the trees,

their roots deep in the ground

and their branches wildly stretching into the elsewhere

in my imagination

i linger

alone with the Alone

thanking the warm, moist and salty God,

who calls me by name –

loving me and dancing me into being

on the pulse of each new morn –

for the gift of the call

THE GIFT OF THE CALL

what call?

the one i remember today,

the one i celebr

ate today,

the 8th of July 1988

prostrate, flat on the cold, marble floor of the cathedral

saying yes, let it be done

here i am, send me

ordained a priest

25 years ago

challenged to allow myself to be transformed

into an artist of the good news.