“Christmas letter is obsolete.”
Facebook has been telling the story.
The letter is for emphasis:
What is remembered and forgotten,
the understanding of what it meant.
The story began with a bear,
scary bear, went down the mountain
to meet me: imprinted in my mind.
The farthest we travelled, to the south,
Key West Islands, to visit friends.
One and a half hour drive to the north
to visit vineyards and taste wines.
A teacher guided me
how to survive the forest
taught me what to eat,
how to find water, shelter.
A cold spell
descended in the village
the mountain, white again,
the bear in hibernation.
I did not know.
A tiger truly scared me.
A nurse examining my eyes every hour.
monitoring my consciousness.
The wait and the healing.
I could drive at night again,
go to high altitude.
“I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.”
I like to believe it was true
in the first half of my life.
I’m way on the second half.
I surrendered my baton
to a higher power, the ancient One.
I will spread my arms
welcome the dawn,
place my palms together
and bow. Merry Christmas.
note:In the midst of Jesus’ anguished prayer asking his Father to take his cup of sorrow away…
“Then an angel appeared to him, coming from heaven to give him strength.“ (Luke 22:43)
from: Can You Drink the Cup? by Henri J.M. Nouwen
photo: Key Wesuary, 2013
photo: Jerusalem, September 2010
