All-surrounding Grace
March 14th, 2024
By Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, Director, La Vista Ecological Learning Ctr
Especially on a sunny day one can stand atop the bluffs at La Vista and feel linked to eagles, hawks, or
vultures riding thermals rising from those bluffs. When birds find these warm currents of air, they are literally lifted up by them. It seems that there is enough lift from the rising air that birds can stop flapping their wings, holding them still, extended sideways, as in this photo taken from the lodge.
I often think how much fun they are having, being birds on the wing in this gorgeous place! What must it be like to be so supported that flying effortlessly is the way to go? Visitors to La Vista never tire of the sight, nor do I. We are mesmerized. In her poignant, brief poem The Avowal, Denise Levertov artfully offers two images from nature which help me explore this allurement: swimmers lying back while “water bears them”; hawks resting while “air sustains them”.
In a final revealing metaphor, she shares her deeply human wish:
“to attain freefall, and float into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace, knowing no effort earns that all-surrounding grace”.
Maybe that is the draw when we witness or experience this kind of support. We identify the images with our own effortless experiences of the Spirit’s gratuitous embrace. When have you rested in this awareness?
May March provide you with ample opportunities to be present to Spirit in such an alluring way!
(Image by Yinan Chen from Pixabay) (Image by Veronika Andrews from Pixabay)
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Related keywords: bald eagles Mississippi, bluffs Mississippi River, La Vista Ecological Learning Center, Mississippi River, Sr. Maxine Pohlman
