Summer is a joyous time
Summer is a joyous time.
The promise of spring has been fulfilled in the lengthened days and the warmth of the sun.
In this time of happiness, it is good to think of the past winter, and to remember the broken saplings and the trodden flowers – plants, animals, people who have been taken from us, always too early. We think too of those whose company we do not have for other reasons – illness or force of distance.
Let us pause for a while to remember with love our absent friends.
(Silence)
Those we love will live in our hearts forever, and so it is appropriate also to celebrate, especially in the warmth of summer which has been so long awaited.
We have much to celebrate in our gatherings – the joining together of familiar friends and new acquaintances, united in recognition of our common humanity.
Let us pause once more in the quietness. Not the silence which is the absence of noise (for there is always noise): rather, the peace of of a quiet lake; the calm of a child sleeping; the reassurance of a friend listening.
Let us be quiet together.
(Silence)
Partly adapted from words by Bruce T Marshall and Lionel Blue; written in July 2002 and intended to be followed by the meditation ‘I have seen a [parent] at a crib…’
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