Fall Leaves as Kin

Photo: Carleen Schomer, OSB

Whenever something continues to unsettle me I have a strong hunch that it’s an invitation to something.  My current “unsettled state” keeps growing each time I listen to the news.  I know I’m not alone in this agitated feeling. So recently I’ve been grappling with power & force when I pray the Our Father.  The word “kingdom” keeps entreating deeper exploration.

 It seemed so appropriate to speak of a kingdom in the Old Testament era, when kings and laws were the common guides for civic order and power.  Recently, many of us have been drawn to spell that word differently.  The word “kin-dom” seems more resonant with the God of unconditional love that we have come to acknowledge. Different cultures and religions acknowledge everything and everyone as kin.  Persons from these traditions consistently are respectfully open and use power for empowering.  I find myself increasingly inviting this kin-expression of God-ness to enter more deeply into every cell of my body as a welcome gift.

However, in the encounters of daily life, I find that awareness easily receding into my unconscious.  That makes me all the more grateful for fall leaves.  They invite me to remember that every time I let the sap of my being re-enter my roots for a precious time of quiet nurturing, I’m somehow allowing the Root of my Being to prepare me again for Spring Rising.  No wonder I enjoy dancing to the music of crackling leaves while I toss them about when no one is watching. 

Mary Rachel Kuebelbeck, OSB