Journal of Sacred Work

Days 301- 302 Autumn

 Note: Shared by Liz Sorensen Wessel

Vermont Country Road

Autumn

The leaves are falling, falling as if from far up,

as if orchards were dying high in space.

Each leaf falls as if it were motioning "no."

And tonight the heavy earth is falling

away from all other stars in the loneliness.

We're all falling. This hand here is falling.

And look at the other one. It's in them all.

And yet there is Someone, whose hands

infinitely calm, holding up all this falling.

By Rainer Maria Rilke

 

 

Photo: Vermont Country Road, Oct. 2016

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6 responses to “Days 301- 302 Autumn”

  1. erie chapman Avatar
    erie chapman

    Thank you for quoting this heart breakingly beautiful poem of Rilke’s, Liz. And thank you for the photograph of your beloved Vermont. I think of Joseph Campbell’s comment that we are all falling through time and we should enjoy the fall as best we can.

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  2. Maureen McDermott Avatar
    Maureen McDermott

    Liz, how wonder-full to be immersed in Autumn beauty as we move into Spring in the Southern Hemisphere and the aftermath of heartbreaking flooding in parts of New South Wales. Rilke reminds us of wherever we are Someone is holding us – how true. And a message which can gift us with hope as we live through the dyings of the everyday. Thank you Liz.

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  3. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Thanks so much for your appreciation of Rilke’s poem and for sharing Campbell’s insight, which is grand, to enjoy. Thanks so much, Erie.

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  4. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Hello, Sr. Maureen, I am so sorry to hear of the flooding in New South Wales. Thank you for your compassion and wisdom that you offer so generously.

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  5. Jolyon Avatar
    Jolyon

    My first thoughts at seeing the Liz’s picture from Vermont, I was jealous. The fall foliage, the river snd steams…”take lots of pictures Liz.” The picture takes you there. Then I heard there was a terrible accident in Vermont on I-89. Five people were killed. The beauty and happiness at seeing the photo turned to apprehension. I prayed that Liz and her family were okay. Later in the day it was revealed that a wrong way driver had collided with another vehicle and five teenagers now lay dead. The apprehension lifted and a quiet solitude was there as I flashed back nearly forty years… The shock of losing five wonderful souls (or even one) can bring out a disgust, bad taste, a resentment. We must choose to love and cherish what little time we have with one another, before we need to…
    And back to today, a week later and another beautiful picture of Vermont. The colors are turning as winter is approaching. A crispness in the October air. Let us listen to St. Francis, “Francis understood “an essential truth about God, that there is no separation between matter and spirit. Knowing our true identity- one with God- frees us from fear of death and allows us to let go of our small self to live more fully as embodied love.” (Rohr)
    Listen to the mystics, and pray with God.

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  6. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Thanks you for your reflection Jolyon, your concern and caring. We learned of the accident the morning after my nieces wedding. It occurred in the town where the reception was held and the community was devastated. My niece was so responsible to arrange bus transportation for all guests from the hotels to the reception and back so that no one who had been drinking would drive afterwards.
    I appreciate your encouragement to not fear but to live in awareness of a greater reality, to listen and to be prayerful

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