Tomorrow I head for a "home place"--one of several to which I repeatedly return. This one, Ghost Ranch, has a lively history and offers a place of such spaciousness, I can scarcely comprehend it. Each time I'm there, I grow somewhat tired of its remote and empty feeling. I long to go "home" to Michigan. And, each time I go home to Michigan, I feel a magnetic pull to return to "the ranch".

While I'm out there, I know I will experience a myriad of thoughts and feelings. I will meet new people and renew acquaintances with those who live there permanently. I'll pet the burros, walk the labyrinth surrounded by high stone mesas, eat good New Mexican food in the ranch dining room, curl up in the wonderful library with more than one book, and walk--a lot.

I'll gaze in awe at the night sky, so incredibly dark and brightly illumined with light which has traveled eons of time to greet my wondering eyes. The strata of colors in the rock faces tell the story of more eons--earth time. And my little life, my little body, my little soul, will seem infintesimally minute, yet precious. What an honor to know one is part of such a mysterious and amazing creation! What a privilege to have a mind to be able to notice and appreciate, if not understand, it all.

I hope to write more from there in the days ahead, to share some of the joy of participating in a home place, one which both welcomes me and doesn't need me in the least. "How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts." Psalm 84: 1

Our children need nature and nature needs them

I'm promoting the Fourth Annual Norris Ingells Walk for Nature and here's one of the reasons why.

In church this morning, the priest asked the kids what was the most wonderful thing they'd ever seen in creation. (He had been referring to sunrises, etc.) Only one child answered and she said, "Disney World." He responded with respect and understanding, but it wasn't the answer he was looking for. He was trying to show how children see the world with fresh eyes, with excitement and delight. And of course they do that at Disney World, too. But what a commentary on our current life, that the most exciting, impressive thing is a copy of the inexpressibly wonderful creation we live within and are part of.

I also watched most of the National Parks series on PBS this past week. As usual, Ken Burns did a superb job of teaching, impressing, inspiring, encouraging. Friends, if our children lose their ability to fall in love with the natural world, to be curious about all that lies around them, near and far, we are doomed. I believe it is that serious.

So, of course I want people to go to the Walk because it's in honor of the man I love! But more than anything else, I want us to hand down the mantle of caring for this earth, so that our children and their children will love and cherish and preserve it. Others before us did this, often at great personal sacrifice. We must not drop this mantle.

Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 10-11 a.m. - Fenner Nature Center, 2020 E. Mt. Hope, Lansing. Register in advance at http://fenner.homestead.com/events/norris_ingells.html

Tidbits

• Willie came home about 24 hours after he left; he's fine.
• Tessa is scratching and scratching because of allergies. Thank goodness for Benedryl.
• The writing seems to be in a stalled position, as I prepare for leading a retreat at Ghost Ranch, but I feel confident it will come--in time.
• Today I have an endoscopy--upper GI scope. I'm fasting just now, but the procedure is easy to take. I've had several before. The greater concern for me, what with acid reflux and a small hiatal hernia, is what he might find. Sitting in prayer this morning, however, I felt a great sense of peace. And I love this doctor, so it will be good to see him again, even through the haze of good drugs. I am grateful to my daughter for her protective care today. And to God, through her and all those who will "work" on me.
• The picture at the top of the blog is one Norris took at Lake of the Clouds in western Upper Michigan. Have you ever been there? It is spectacular. Much closer to Wisconsin and Minnesota than to this part of Michigan. Surrounded by forests and hiking trails, it is well worth the long trip.
  
• A dear friend and her father are touring the Upper Peninsula. Their itinerary reminded me of places Norris and I visited many times. I haven't had the courage to face the U.P. without him, but I do want to return to those wild, lonely places--the beaches, the falls, the sand dunes, the lighthouses, the spacious beauty. Michigan's upper peninsula is one of our best kept secrets. Maybe that's why it's still possible to find solitude there.
• I've been watching Ken Burns' National Parks documentary and gaining deeper appreciation for the struggles people went through to preserve these great wilderness landscapes. Of the ones I have visited, my favorite would be Grand Tetons in Wyoming, followed by Olympia in Washington. But the National Shorelines at Sleeping Bear and Pictured Rocks here in Michigan are deep in my heart and my bones. We are a part of each other.
• And so another blog post, another day of life, another chance to live and love and breathe free. Please join me in a moment of rejoicing!
  

Why I love what I do!

For as long as I can remember, people have talked to me. Of course, I've always talked to them, too, but sometimes I'm just amazed that no matter where I am, my ear must have a blinking neon sign that says "You can tell me." How many times have I heard "I've never told anyone this before, but..." Or, "this is just between us..."

But the best time is when someone comes to my home for spiritual guidance/companionship/direction/friendship. Use whatever term you wish, the idea is someone to talk to who will listen, care, and be there for you. Sometimes we pray aloud; sometimes we sit in silence; sometimes we don't do either. Sometimes we laugh a lot; sometimes we cry. But always it is sacred.

Yesterday a person told me that when she comes here, it is "home"--peaceful, prayerful, impossible to put a finger on, but home. This, in spite of the worn out, cat-clawed couch, the noisy little dog, and a woman who often feels totally inadequate to be anyone's spiritual "helper". I was awe-struck, speechless. "Love Divine, all loves excelling..." How could I be so graced? And yet, how could I not if I believe what I say I believe?

Yes, sometimes the stories are heavy or convoluted or tiresome. And it takes a lot of energy to focus on another and set myself aside. I don't always succeed, of course. But the Grace is always there, somehow. When each one says goodbye, I pray for their well-being, and I am thoroughly grateful for the blessing of their presence!

Oh, by the way, the cat came home and we did find our great-grandparents' graves. Thanks for asking. :)