Breathe

Sometimes I forget. That simple act of letting out the breath that I take in. It is Monday morning and as I frantically sort through emails, phone messages and papers piled high around me a voice breaks through. "...breathe...don't forget to breathe." I turned the music on to help calm my frantic pace, background noise to help me set the rythm for my work. Somehow all the other words have just been notes and melodies that pass over me. But these words "...don't forget to breathe." these are the words that I hear, that I need to hear.

The song "breathe" by Alexi Murdoch

Stars and Remembering

My favorite author passed away this past Thursday. Madeleine L'Engle lived 88 years and authored some of the most beautiful words, both poetry and prose, that I have had the pleasure of reading. Through reading so much of her work, her heart, I feel a sense of connection to her life. I have quoted her words so many times on this little blog that it only seems right to pay her tribute here. While she no longer dwells among us her words and stories will be forever left behind to inspire and challenge those who read them.

I thought of Madeleine this weekend as I got out of town for a camping trip. On Saturday night a group of us stood on the banks of the Wenatchee River and looked at the canopy of a million stars above us. Earlier this summer I read "Many Waters" by L'Engle in which stars play a large roll. The stars are constantly singing out truth, according to L'Engle, singing over us. If only we could learn to stop and listen, to re-learn the ancient language in which they speak.

Reading "Many Waters" and contemplating the wisdom of the stars inspired me to write my own song about the story. So I will share it here is my tribute to Madeleine L'Engle's life and the truth that she has helped me to see.

Why We Are Here by Bree Aseltine

I went out walking in the wilderness
And the stars were chiming over head
The were speaking in an old unfamiliar language
But still I knew every word

Some how I ended up in some else's stories
Wandering in the desert, far from home
And as the strange in this foreign land
I had to learn to change my hard, hard heart

To believe in the impossible, that is why we are here
To know love that cannot be quenched, that is why we are here

When I looked up out of my own despair
Looking up into the clear night sky
I heard the stars singing over us
fear not sweet child and wait patiently

Thank you, Madeleine, and rest in peace.