A Loving Look

My root teacher William McNamara taught me to take a long loving look at the world around me, in its beauty and squalor, kindness and cruelty, and be amazed at the opportunity to witness and husband a world with which God has fallen in love.

In this context, simple tasks and encounters become wonders. For example, I am deeply grateful that I could pick apples this year from the tree in my friend Dennis’s back yard. He recently suffered an ankle injury and couldn’t climb a ladder. Tessa had just finished her week of teaching at Naropa University, and we were delighted to spend some sunny hours plucking ripe red apples from the higher branches. For the next couple of weeks, here in Arizona, Tessa and I were still savoring those crisp, sweet apples.

A Maple Leaf

I’m grateful, too, that I lived long enough to meet two of Dennis’s granddaughters. Fifty years ago, Dennis and I were roommates at Prescott College in northern Arizona. At nineteen, it was impossible to imagine that I would be with Dennis again in our elder years, let alone encounter the charming Shay. She is discovering the wonder of autumn, and I am grateful for the moment when she stood before me at the breakfast table, smiling in amazement, and showed me the small red maple leaf she had just brought in from the lawn.

A Young Chef and a New Season

I’m grateful for the witness of the exuberant ten-year-old chef Renad from Gaza, who appears on Instagram and cooks simple Palestinian meals. She cooks outdoors, amidst the rubble of what was her neighborhood. Sometimes she helps distribute food to her hungry neighbors. Her resilience seems limitless, but I take a deep breath each day before I check to see if she’s still alive.

Finally, I’m grateful for this time of year, when Thanksgiving sets the tone for Advent, the season of wonder and waiting in grateful hope.