"What I want is to leap out of this personality
   And then sit apart from that leaping-
I’ve lived too long where I can be reached."
             –Rumi

Fanny Brice in the musical Hello Dolly! says: "Life is a smorgasbord and most poor fools are starving to death." Her impetus for making this remark is to encourage others to move out of their staid lives, to find the exciting, to take risks. It is a good challenge. I find it very easy to fall into the rut of a routine….make the coffee, read the paper. Why, I even like to read the sections of the paper in a certain order!

Following Fanny’s advice can, however, be taken to the extreme. For me the past few weeks have been a prime example. There have been so many things good going on in my life, in the community, especially in our faith community, that I feel as if I have been standing at the buffet line on a cruise ship…..constant, wonderful, delicious food…. consumed all the time. So much so that one of our community members came up to me Sunday and said:"You have to let us rest now." Of course, he said it with a satisfied smile on his face. All the choices people have been offered have been wonderful, inspiring, beautiful. But it is time to rest. I can feel it. As my mother often said:"It truly is possible to have too much of a good thing."

I was supposed to lead a retreat this weekend with two friends. We had worked on the plans, the material was rich using the simple cup as a metaphor for our lives, emptying, filling, overflowing. We were excited about it and it would have been a delightful experience. But unfortunately there were not enough signed up. Perhaps everyone needs a rest from all the good things that are happening.Perhaps their cups were too full.

At any rate I now find myself with the opportunity to slow down and to ‘sit apart from the leaping.’ It will, I know, take a bit of time to slow down to the speed of life. The weather may add just the perfect backdrop for slowing down, for resting. With the rain falling outside, the temperatures falling, it will create an atmosphere for going within, for being introspective. It may be just what is needed for a perfect retreat, a perfect rest.

In Wayne Muller’s book Sabbath he tells a traditional Hebrew tale. "Rabbi Levi saw a man running in the street, and asked him, "Why do you run?" He replied, "I am running after my good fortune!" Rabbi Levi tells him, "Silly man, your good fortune has been trying to chase you, but you are running too fast."

I am going to take off my running shoes now. I am going to sit down and stop leaping. I am going to watch the rain fall and think back to the richness of these past weeks….and count my blessings. Then I might have a nice nap.

May you have a restful weekend…………………