There is a holy light in my back yard. Perhaps you’ve seen it too. It originates at the edge of dark, rain-filled clouds and clear blue sky. It casts a crystalline clarity across the spectrum of color that exists in grass - and leaves, blossoms on trees and sprouting shrubs, cardinals’ and starlings’ wings – colors that burst forth - so intense that you don’t even see the object, but rather see as the artist sees; pieces of color - connected -to create a scene. Not quite the phenomenon that my daughter refers to as “God-light” - where the streaming, distant rain falls from clouds toward the earth in even rays, but a cast like that of a certain brilliance which causes you to pause – to ponder questions about the sacredness of our existence.
This experience of the holy and these words came to me one afternoon as I was preparing the grill for dinner! So suddenly and intensely it occurred - and I knew immediately that I needed to write it down – capture it, so that I would always have it – so that I might someday share it. A moment of grace – a gift from the universe.
What is this thing that I experienced? Certainly we feel it, as I did from my back porch, that sense of wonder at the world around us – how marvelously put together it is. We can’t help but stand in awe sometimes. It may be the sound of the ocean for some of us and the rustle of fallen leaves beneath our feet for others. Maybe we find it in a beautifully crafted poem or in the words of our children; our grandchildren. Surely we can all recall an experience of it. A time when we witnessed some part of the natural order “crying out” as it were, rendering praise by its very existence for the gift of life; of being.
Reverence is the word for what I felt, what you have felt in the face of something so awesome that it is hard to find the words for – a sense of something larger than humanity, accompanied by awe. It is a capacity, really, to feel, to emote. And it is directed toward something that reminds us of our limitations as human beings. This awe we experience renders us mostly inarticulate; coming over us and leaving us at a loss to say what it is about; evading our vocabulary. Suddenly we are dwarfed by what we have confronted because it doesn’t fit neatly into a set of beliefs. We are called into silence; into waiting for further disclosure.
There are certainly scientific reasons for the light I saw and we can deny our emotions and chalk it all up to science and reason, but I am not possessed of a totally scientific mind or understanding. And beyond the science, when we are graced to witness something that we can’t control or change, that sometimes even experts can’t fully explain, that we didn’t create, there is a sense of transcendence. Beyond the science is the holy; a purity if you will, and it calls forth reverence.
Our words are lovely tools to represent our thoughts, but you know the old saying, it is our actions that speak louder. Reverence is also expressed in a “language of behavior.” Possessed of a reverence for humanity, we respond to one another in ways which manifest that level of respect and awe. It is a challenge in these times where irreverence has been given free reign to intentionally choose the reverent road. Opportunities abound if we are mindful, allowing our awareness to open the door to possibility.
Where do these opportunities show up for you? Can you commit to noticing; to reverence?
