Morning Meditation at New Coverleigh

It is cool this morning at New Coverleigh, a blessed relief from the heat and drought of the hottest summer on record and the more recent drenching rains from the outer bands of Hurricane Hermine last week. Overhead the silhouette of an elongated goose crosses a horizon glowing with the rising sun. Noisy black birds engage in a call and response morning song from the nearby trees. 

A bee is busily darting back and forth between the Mexican petunias which less than a month ago were six inch cuttings jammed into the earth, this morning a couple of feet high and covered with lavender blooms.

As I breathe in, I am aware “G-d is in this.” As that breath lingers in my body, I am aware “G-d is in me.” And as I exhale, I am aware “G-d is in the world through me.” Indeed, the very carbon dioxide I exhale this morning is an integral part of the world I share with countless other life forms, the very breath of the many plants all around me.

My north garden where I sit is now a sea of green where earlier this summer a tree crew stripped this spot of all signs of life right down to the earth, removing every stitch of green from it in the process of carrying away the corpse of my poor dying oak trees. I have worked hard to heal the scarred landscape around the north end of our home. And this morning, that hard work bears fruit.

In my time to become grounded this morning, I am aware of all the many things in my life for which I am grateful this morning. For a new beginning as a teacher in a place I love working; for our beloved beagle, Daisy, still with us but in very guarded condition; for a good report from my Father’s oncologist on the eve of more tests at Moffett Cancer Center in Tampa; for a day to spend as I see fit in this semi-retired life I now lead.

I have always loved the Johnny Appleseed song that I learned as a camp counselor at the Florida Easter Seal’s Camp Challenge years ago. There are times when the goodness of the Creation and my awareness of the many blessings of my life overcome me. I sometimes find myself throwing my hands out, looking into the sky and breaking into song: “Ohhhh, the Lord is good to me. And so I thank the Lord…for giving me…the things I need…the sun and the rain and the apple seed. The Lord. Is. Good. To. Me. Alleluia!”

Somehow that song just seemed appropriate this beautiful morning here among the trees, the birds and the rising sun in the heart of this city I love.

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Harry Scott Coverston

Orlando, Florida

frharry@cfl.rr.com

harry.coverston@knights.ucf.edu

If the unexamined life is not worth living, surely an unexamined belief system, be it religious or political, is not worth holding.

Most things worth considering do not come in sound bites.

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. – Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Wisdom of the Ages, Commentary on Micah 6:8

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