"Today, like every other day,
we wake up empty and frightened.
Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading.
Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways
to kneel and kiss the ground."
~Rumi

Last night I was at a loss. Words were failing me. Reading was too difficult. Writing impossible.Prayers would not come. All the things that fill my time, fill me up, were inadequate. It had been a difficult day that had been part of a difficult week. I walked around the house aimless.

Then my eyes fell on the piano. I had not touched the keys in weeks. Sitting down, I began to play old songs, sappy, sweet songs that in other times I would laugh at their sentimentality. But tonight they seemed just right. I played and played, making every chord schmaltzier than the last. As I played a sense of calm began to take hold. I felt the stress and pain of the past week begin to loosen in my muscles. It was a moment of healing brought on by the power of 'taking down an instrument' as Rumi suggests. I played until the notes had their way with my troubles, my confusion, my pain. It was good.

A friend and colleague died tragically this past week. My community is reeling with their questions, their anguish, their grief. Many are filled with doubt, fear and a challenged faith. Walking together through this has been difficult. But this is what true communities do. They hold each other up when needed and celebrate with joy when it is called for. They listen to each others' questions with patience knowing they have no answers. They pray even when their prayers seem shallow and trust that God hears the depth of their words. And in the mix of the hands that reach out and the arms that hold, I believe, the Holy shows up. Or rather, we have the eyes to see the presence that was always lingering within our reach.

Sometimes that presence is in the touch of another or the word well chosen. Sometimes it is in the silence. Still other times it is in the sweet sound our own fingers make as they bring to life the sound of music that has the power to distract, transform, heal. All these are gift offered without price. Pure sacrament.

There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.