Yesterday evening, hot and tired after a long day, I filled my bike tires and headed up the San Lorenzo River. I pedaled past fields of dahlias and tomatoes, past the neighbors' barking hounds, and through a thick forest of redwood and bay until I reached a steep trail leading down to a gravely beach. There, I put down my bike, took off my shoes, and waded in. The water was shallow and warm. A few yards upriver, some kids were knocking each other off rubber rafts. For a long while, I just stood in that water, swallows swooping above my head and the river slipping softly around my feet on its way to the bay. There's not a lot of water in the San Lorenzo at this time of year, but it was more than enough to restore me, body and soul.
I hope you're finding your way to the places you love this summer: the places that help you remember who you are and why you're here. Whether it's a few minutes at the end of the day, or a long-awaited summer vacation, I hope you're collecting summer memories with the ones you love, and letting the earth hold you as you sink into sacred rest.
I've been hearing from lots of Peace United friends who are carrying tiny blue bottles everywhere they go this season! If you don't yet have a bottle, please do
stop on your way into or out of the sanctuary and pick up one or two. On your travels this summer, you can collect a little bit of the waters that bless you and your family. Then, when we all return in the fall, we'll gather up all the waters we've visited and bless them, along with all the waters of earth.
And, when you're in town, I hope you'll join us as we bless and are blessed by the all the waters, fields, and forests nearby.
This Saturday, July 11th, we'll be at Moran Lake State Beach to pick up trash and share some sun and sea. There's a parking lot right across from the beach, and we'll meet there at 10 a.m.
This season and always, were cherishing the earth, celebrating the gift of life, and carrying peace with every step...
