Monday’s Meditation: On The Great Glory

October 8, 2012

Despite the exceptionally perfect weather around the Seattle-land and many other goodies of note (visit from a one Best Friend) bad news, I regret to state, has been abounding lately: one relative’s infant son contracted an extremely rare and dangerous sickness requiring urgent medical attention; a troubled individual continues to struggle with her addiction to drugs and alcohol and delves ever deeper into the world of substance abuse; a woman far too young to be coping with the emotional and physical tumult of cancer shaves her head and begins Chemotherapy.

And I bring this up today not to bring us all down, but to say: with such news comes the stark realization that life is infinitely precious.

Crisis, then, brings with it clarity. We always remark about that, don’t we?

Except that clarity exists throughout all moments– not just the ones that try us. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, you see; the cloudy, overcast days, we rationalize, exist in order to make us appreciate the ones bursting with sunshine. And yet a sunny day is a valuable commodity all on its own– regardless of its relationship to the cloud-filled.

Here’s what I’m getting at:

May it not just be the moments of disaster and despair that send us careening toward that most basic truth. But, may we actively ponder how precious this life is even while everything around us is in its most stable state– any old humdrum Thursday when one sits filing one’s nails, for instance. Then, with every groove of dermis, every creamy shaving of cell, every arched moon, and craggy edge-turned-smooth, may we know it. May we hear it in the rhythmic back and forth strokes of the file:

Life is precious.

Life is it.

To be alive is the greatest glory that exists.

Image credit: Raspberry and Red

6 Comments

  1. Tidy-Up Gal on October 8, 2012 at 6:12 am

    This weekend, I attended a memorial service for a 32-year old woman who I only spent a few moments with and immediately noticed her warm spirit. Her friends delivered eulogies and one said “she always said to me, ‘I don’t ever want to be jaded.'” It was such a great, much needed reminder to live and love life, period. Thanks for sharing this great post. I love your Monday meditations – always a great start to the week.

  2. Dawn {The Alternative Wife} on October 8, 2012 at 11:28 am

    This is so true, Annie. My two best friends passed away way too young within the past two years. And I can’t even begin to describe how grateful I am for the life I get to live. Live is precious and it should not be taken for granted. All of the pain and negativity has a flip side. Bravo for spreading this message. xoxo

  3. Monica on October 8, 2012 at 6:15 pm

    Wow…your words were so tender and true. I am going to have to look back at more of your Monday meditations….

  4. Emily | Recently on October 8, 2012 at 8:19 pm

    Sending prayers and good thoughts for your friends who are struggling right now. I remember very well the days when my little Luke was 6 weeks old, and contracted something that kept coming back, each time a little worse than the last. It seemed like I was floating in a real-life hell at that long moment in time, and, looking back, it wasn’t even that big of a deal. I remember telling myself that I don’t know how people deal with REAL illness, when I could barely deal with one that had much better chances. When things got better, I don’t think the sky had ever seemed bluer, or my faith had ever seemed stronger. I agree with you, I wish that I could have that clarity every day of my life. Thanks for the reminder, and for the beautiful way in which you shared it!

    • livesimplybyannie on October 11, 2012 at 10:19 am

      Thank you for this beautiful comment, Emily. So happy to hear that you liked the reminder, and hearing how you experienced this in your own life with your cutie.

  5. ashley on October 9, 2012 at 7:55 am

    i absolutely love this post. being grateful for today, being grateful in the moment and living in the moment is something that i work toward. j and i have begun by including thanks in our prayer before dinner and i love the idea of a gratitude journal.

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6 Comments

  1. Tidy-Up Gal on October 8, 2012 at 6:12 am

    This weekend, I attended a memorial service for a 32-year old woman who I only spent a few moments with and immediately noticed her warm spirit. Her friends delivered eulogies and one said “she always said to me, ‘I don’t ever want to be jaded.'” It was such a great, much needed reminder to live and love life, period. Thanks for sharing this great post. I love your Monday meditations – always a great start to the week.

  2. Dawn {The Alternative Wife} on October 8, 2012 at 11:28 am

    This is so true, Annie. My two best friends passed away way too young within the past two years. And I can’t even begin to describe how grateful I am for the life I get to live. Live is precious and it should not be taken for granted. All of the pain and negativity has a flip side. Bravo for spreading this message. xoxo

  3. Monica on October 8, 2012 at 6:15 pm

    Wow…your words were so tender and true. I am going to have to look back at more of your Monday meditations….

  4. Emily | Recently on October 8, 2012 at 8:19 pm

    Sending prayers and good thoughts for your friends who are struggling right now. I remember very well the days when my little Luke was 6 weeks old, and contracted something that kept coming back, each time a little worse than the last. It seemed like I was floating in a real-life hell at that long moment in time, and, looking back, it wasn’t even that big of a deal. I remember telling myself that I don’t know how people deal with REAL illness, when I could barely deal with one that had much better chances. When things got better, I don’t think the sky had ever seemed bluer, or my faith had ever seemed stronger. I agree with you, I wish that I could have that clarity every day of my life. Thanks for the reminder, and for the beautiful way in which you shared it!

    • livesimplybyannie on October 11, 2012 at 10:19 am

      Thank you for this beautiful comment, Emily. So happy to hear that you liked the reminder, and hearing how you experienced this in your own life with your cutie.

  5. ashley on October 9, 2012 at 7:55 am

    i absolutely love this post. being grateful for today, being grateful in the moment and living in the moment is something that i work toward. j and i have begun by including thanks in our prayer before dinner and i love the idea of a gratitude journal.

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