Night

Spiritual resource to share: freshness and contentment



We were out cross country skiing at night again. There is something about the night that I find soothing. In the cold, air becomes a tangible thing. You breathe in and taste a startlingly cold and sweet freshness. You breathe out and you see wisps of rising clouds. It's magical.

Night kind of gets a bad rap when it is used to portray darkness, fear, and so on. So I'm hoping this blog, the picture and poem help to redeem night's other virtues: protection, rest and stillness.

In the dark silence, my husband and I ski. And during the swooshing sound of my skis and the squeak of the cold snow, I take time to pray. The work and persistence of skiing uphill is rewarded by the smooth sailing downhill. Prayer has its rewards as well.

I am grateful for all that night means to me and for the protection that God gives, the rest that comes from dedicated work and the stillness that welcomes every new day. I am grateful to know that prayer becomes a tangible thing. Prayer is the impulse behind kind words, corrected mistakes, forgiveness, renewed commitments and unselfish deeds.

Just as night falls unconditionally and evenly on all things, so does Love grace itself unconditionally and evenly on every thing. The rhythm of my strides and the rhythm of my prayer blend under the safe cover of night.

I found another night lover on the web. Welcome to this poem.

The Night of the Full Moon

by Lloyd Frankenberg

O come with me into this moonlight world.

The trees are large and soft tonight,

With blossoms loaded soft and white,

A cloud of whiteness furling and unfurled.

The houses give their sounds upon the air

In muted tones and secrecies,

Their lights like laughter through the trees.

The evening breathes its vows into our hair.

The evening puts its lips to throat and brow

And swears what it has sworn before

To others and will swear to more.

The evening has its arms around us now.

photo All rights reserved

To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.