Waiting
waiting for sunrise
“We must let go of the life we have planned so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” —Joseph Campbell.
I remember a special day of waiting. We awake early to watch the sun rise one more time from behind the Gulf of Mexico. Amazing. There is one other seeker on the beach, sitting at the water’s edge, facing east, waiting as well. For a few minutes, we are connected, the “two or three that are gathered together.”
All creation is still except for the loud roar of the ocean waves, which seem to say, “We are too busy and will not stop even if this star does not appear on stage today.” It doesn’t take long for the bright orange slowly to peek out from under the sea’s dark, heavy morning blanket. It is spectacular, with yellow, pink, and red soon splattered across our view. It is too much to take in.
I look for other mentors for the day to accompany us in our waiting. I need not go far. The Monarch butterflies, with their sunlight-orange, black, and white wings, are arriving. They wake from their night's rest and warm in the new sunlight as they wait for the perfect air current to carry them on their long flight over the Gulf to a valley in Mexico. Are they the same ones who emerged from their chrysalises on the milkweed plants on our deck in Little Rock? Probably not, but they may be related. I hope to remember their patience, resilience, and persistence next spring.
Later, in the early morning, we sit and wait in church for the early Sunday service to begin. The eight o’clockers are mostly introverts, quietly finding places near the back of the church. A few brave ones go up to the first row of pews. We later learn they are reading the Lessons in the service. There is no music at eight. The altar party’s procession is silent. They are like the sun, trying not to make a spectacle. But their silence and sacredness are just as powerful, announcing a new day with one more message of love for new eyes to see and new ears to hear.
Waiting is indeed an art, a sacred spiritual work. Like almost everything else, it takes practice to appreciate, but it always promises manna and a favorable wind just for this day, until we are ready to wait again.
Joanna joannaseibert.com