Daily Meditation for March 13, 2024

There is a huge oak tree outside the window that still has some big clumps of dry, brown leaves hanging on. We might think of this as a picture of persistence, never giving up. But those dead leaves may be carrying persistence too far. Nature’s cycle wants them to drop to the ground to enrich the soil. Sometimes we, too, may hang on too long. Think of the salesman with his foot in the door, the parents who meddle in their adult children’s lives, or people who insist on living in the past. They missed the signs that a task, idea, relationship or opinion is no longer needed or useful. We all have difficulty, sometimes, realizing that it is time to move on to something different. How can we recognize the signs? Here is a bit of Cowboy Wisdom on this subject: “When the horse is dead, get off.”

By Mary Jackle, OSB