Daily Meditation for May 10, 2023

Sometimes we get caught in “the cotton wool of daily life” (Virginia Woolf). Life has become commonplace, routine, boring. We are stuck in habitual reactions and patterns. Our senses do not serve us with color, sounds, tastes, smells, textures, distinctions that can give vitality to our everyday lives. What is my friend really saying? What delight—the chocolate-covered face of the small child eating birthday cake! What’s happening to cause twinges in my stomach? Upon a closer look, what are the colors in the flowers of the spring tulips? Why don’t I hear the chirps and flirtatious songs of the birds during mating season? Daily we are challenged to peel off some of the “cotton wool” of our dulled consciousness and reactions. Each of us needs to ask: “What is causing my dullness that deprives me of freshness and vitality? What can I do to open myself to vibrancy and delight?”

By Mary Reuter, OSB