New Day Rising

Easter 2014 17:32

This morning Ali and I woke up fairly early for a Sunday, say about 5:15, put on our clothes and headed out to Cedar Beach to attend Easter sunrise service.  When we approached I was surprised by the number of cars which were parked neatly in rows, which is a common sight for the summer at the beach, but assuming as I did; there will not be many of us, I was pleasantly surprised.  Reverend Diane and the other minister from another local church greeted us and turned to watch the sun cast its gentle light on the morning water.  The sky was glowing.  The service began.  We sang Cat Stevens or as he is known today, Yusuf Islam, Morning has broken.  Jeff had his acoustic guitar and Jamie from the choir led the small crowd which sang in broken harmonies in the early morning winds…we have begun.  A new day is here.  A call for us to transform from our darkness like Jesus did, bringing us life everlasting.  And I prayed for Amanda up in Boston, since this is the day before the Boston Marathon and just over a year from the bombings.  Lord bestows peace.  The city shakes off the fear and remains united.  I thought of Husker Du and one of my favorite albums, New Day Rising as well as the song. I prayed this morning for my friends who are suffering from their own conflicts and lack of love and rubbed Ali’s back, grateful she was there with me.  It’s Easter and we can change from our ways and make a new start, not just for Easter but in this season as long as we are open to be transformed.  When we came home, Ali went back to sleep since she did not sleep well last night.  I read my daily chapter, today it was Romans chapter 12 which contains the following verse (2) “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  I have a post- it- note on my desk which is from the Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, “What I really need is to get clear of what I must do, not what I must know except insofar that knowledge must precede every act.  What matters in to find a purpose, to see what it really is that God wills that I do, the crucial thing is to find a truth which is truth for me…” May this season, bring blessings to you and your family and may we all find what God wills us to do - with compassionate hearts.

Last day at the beach, a post I wrote but didn't post

Taking in the last days of summer, on Saturday afternoon, I took Joe and Bella down to the beach. We knew it would high tide, a favorite game is guessing what the tide would be, it’s a habit of mine to ask before making the sharp turn towards Cedar Beach. The water lapped onto the side of the road. No one checked our beach tag, the post was deserted. It appeared as if one parking lot was closed for a fair. I parked the mini-van and we made our way down to the water. The waves were high since the winds were strong, and from the West faint cool cries of autumn were droning in. There were few bathers, the life guard chairs were removed as well as the rope that borders where the public bathers can dip into the water. There were no bi-planes, but one guy was flying a big fish synthetic kite. We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drank juice. The food hit the empty spots in our bellies and we paraded back into the clear water and conducted acrobatics for the curious on lookers. Later that night, we heard the thunderous distant explosions from a fire-works show from the fair. We ran over to the train station and raced up the bridge to look over trees and into the distance, and watched the tiny colorful shots expand for a second or two before the show was over. How many more days of summer will there be?

New Year and a new ritual

So that's me about to jump into the water at Cedar Beach. Newsday was there, since the monks organized a dip at 10 AM, but I was getting anxious to complete the goal. So, Ali and I drove down and got there around 9:30, and I pulled of my sweat pants and took off my shoes and stood on the beach as Ali took a couple of pictures. Why? Each year see those freaks jumping in, and was motivated by insanity and the memory of watching my uncle Pat break through the ice at a each in Fort Salonga, and wait there for him to jump in and climb out. To you uncle PAT! It was insane, and WINDY - freezing, and my feet suffered. It took an hour or so for them to thaw out. Lesson for next year - wear sneakers or anything since the sand and the small rocks and shells are frozen solid. Since it was low tide - there was a long walk to the water. So, how deep did you go? Not that you can see it from the picture, but up to my thighs. Next year, a little deeper!
Goals - to write at least 15 minutes every day. So far, so good. I'm on schedule even writing longer which is a great sign. Last night even in the hotel room in Poughkipsee, I began a new short. We headed up to Hyde Park for the weekend - really for a full day and one overnight. Val-Kill is such a reflective place. I'll try to post some pictures on the blog from today. Time to write.