The River View Journey

Perhaps that is a saying that rings true for the majority of Americans right now. I write as the Covid-19 pandemic is sweeping the nation and world. I live in PA which is taking a slow approach to shelter in place. My county is currently not in a mandated "lock-down" only strongly encouraged social distancing. But, schools across the state have been closed for 2 weeks. They will be for at least 1 more by state mandate.  I expect it to be much longer. So, my kids have been home. And, since my currently employment is as a substitute teacher, I am unemoyed. For many months, I have carried a dep physical ache that has made it hard o breathe at times. It finally occurred to me his week that the ache wasn't depression, anxiety, or an illness. Rather,  the ache is grief.  I have been in an extended season of grief for almost 2 years. The losses have seemed to come one on top of another. They have been tied to my vocation. The losses have been deeply personal. I also have realize...

I have actually been working on this post for six weeks. But, for many reasons, it has gotten tabled. Returning to it today, I am reminded that all of us are spiritual people, but we all experience and express our spirituality differently. The following connects with my personal contemplitive and mystical spirituality... "Some hearts are built on a floodplain...." I don't know why or even when I first developed an interest in geology. But, I fully embraced it at the age of twenty-one. I was required to take a science elective in college and I chose Geology. It was a class that had nothing do with my studies in music education. But, it was a class I enjoyed immensely. There are seasons of my spiritual journey when certain songs play constantly in my heart and mind. Several songs just seem to be a narration of certain types of seasons and as I find a season unfolding, a song will get played on repeat. One such song that I have been hearing over recent weeks has turned...