My soul is clapping

Since this is Thanksgiving week, I think we ought to be mindful of gratitude and thanks all week long. So here's one of Mary Oliver's best reflections on what it is that we should be most grateful for: each other.

What is the greatest gift?

What is the greatest gift?
Could it be the world itself--the oceans, the meadowlark,
the patience of the trees in the wind?
Could it be love, with its sweet clamor of passion?

Something else--something else entirely
holds me in thrall.
That you have a life that I wonder about
more than I wonder about my own.
That you have a life--courteous, intelligent--
that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own.
That you have a soul--your own, no one else's--
that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own.

So that I find my soul clapping its hands for yours
more than my own.

Mary Oliver

Another stunning sunrise.

With Thanksgiving weekend this year, comes the beginning of Advent. Sometimes we get a week in between, sometimes not. This year is a "not" and therefore has kept me on my toes as far as finding a time when the temperature rose above 45, with no wind and little blowing. Finally got one last Thursday afternoon and thanks to the help of one of our maintenance guys, Jim, we were able to put our new LED lights (saves on electricity and billing they tell me) on the magnolia tree in the inner courtyard. They will be lit every Advent Saturday night for the Vigil of Sunday and, as Christmas nears, every night until January 6th. Can't wait!