Small Mercies…
“Keep your eyes open to your mercies. The [person] who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.” —Robert Louis Stevenson
Like finding a drinking fountain on a hot day to quench your thirst when you forgot to bring a water bottle, the small mercies that show up to provide relief from the barrage of negative news are blessings worthy of acknowledgement and gratitude.
They give us an opportunity to come back to the present moment, reset our nervous system, and remember we’re not alone.
Last night I shared in a small group my feelings about what’s unfolding in Los Angeles, as did others. Guided to lighten things up by our facilitator Sheila Slevin, one participant mentioned finding an organization focused on “Joyful June.” (Stay tuned for Eremos bringing back our “Joyful July.”) She asked a question posed on their calendar that went something like “What has recently brought you joy?”
Ahh… a merciful opportunity to breathe, smile, and share our stories. It only took a few minutes; yet I could feel myself coming back to center. From that place of strength, I could then join Sheila and the others in sending prayers and light to the people of LA to close out our hour together.
“I believe in peace. I believe in mercy.” –Malala Yousafzai
When I am enraged by what’s unfolding in our nation right now, I can’t begin to envision mercy for those perpetrating actions of cruelty and fomenting fear. But when I open to even the smallest mercies I’m shown daily, my heart softens, and I sense my ability to be a positive force for change…for all.
What small mercies have you experienced recently? What brings you back to center or to your heart’s ability to envision peace, mercy, and hope?
May you find your spirit lifted and heart opened by small mercies today. And may you play a part in offering mercy to another as you shine your light.
Like the Moon…
“Mercy among the virtues is like the moon among the stars—not so sparkling and vivid as many but dispensing a calm radiance that hallows the whole.”
—Edwin Hubbell Chapin
God’s Mercy
“We know we need God’s mercy, but if grace is true for us, it must be true for everyone; if forgiveness is given us, it must be given everybody; and if God does not avenge our misdeeds, God must not avenge the misdeeds of others either.”
―Ron Rolheiser
The Mercy of Love
“This is the most profound spiritual truth I know: that even when we’re most sure that love can’t conquer all, it seems to anyway. It goes down into the rat hole with us, in the guise of our friends, and there it swells and comforts. It gives us second winds, third winds, hundredth winds.”
― Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
Mercy
She asks me to kill the spider.
Instead, I get the most
peaceful weapons I can find.
I take a cup and a napkin.
I catch the spider, put it outside
and allow it to walk away.
If I am ever caught in the wrong place
at the wrong time, just being alive
and not bothering anyone,
I hope I am greeted
with the same kind
of mercy.
