Alhambra. You must say it as if you were announcing royalty, because it demands that sort of respect and a certain amount of pomp. From it’s massive cedars trained as sententials to the birds flitting about as if they are silly courtesans, to the grand architecture which hold in the 250 years of sultan’s might and command. Finally to the lost echo of steps from those who once graced and possessed that which was once the penultimate center of the Muslim history in Europe. Alhambra, you must say it as if announcing royalty.   April 25, 2012

“If” a Stoic Gatekeeper  

    Each church we enter, Richard and I find a quiet spot in a pew to pray. We kneel at the rail, bow our heads, and lose ourselves in the ageless voices that have filled and create the sense of this place.

   If I can let go and just be where I am now, then the presence of tourist  evaporates, then I am left with a stillness that seeks.

   If I empty the noise and people and busyness and chaos that surrounds and consumes, then I can feel the refreshing trickling flow of that Spirit that refreshes being.

   If I allow the Spirit to consume and guide me, then I can be lifted towards a gracious and awe-filled unknown dimly reflected.

   If I open myself to that which is mysterious, then I just might be satiated with a morsel of Divine dispensation.

   We enter Houses of Worship and try to seek respite, renewal, relationship, meaning.

   If, in the realm of spiritual awareness…

   “If” ~ a word that serves as a stoic gatekeeper.                                

May 1