Photo by NIKOLAY OSMACHKO on Pexels.com

It seems to me that I have spent most of my adult life on the verge of running on empty- until recently.  In the giddy relief of completing my thesis last spring, I opened my life to a wave of change that swept me away to this tiny hermitage in the woods. It is secluded- a half hour drive from anywhere and deliciously quiet. Here I am sheltered by a wintery forest and bathed most days in bright eastern sun from every window. The wood stove is slowly teaching me to how to warm myself to a glow against the winter chill. There are books and blankets and sleep to reknit “the ravelled sleeve of care.” This is plenty, I told myself, but then I discovered even more among the trees. A community bulletin board beckoned all to come for tea. I hadn’t known I was so hungry for the hobbit-like banquets with steaming pots of tea, genuine conversation, and eagerly-offered practical help. My heart surprised me with the bloom of delight from such generous hospitality. What is it to be replenished? It is to be filled with gratitude for silence, trees, light and warmth. It is to be brimming with joy that desires to be poured out for others.