Retreat, Final Day

I forgot to post this last year! But I trust that it completes my yearning so long ago, pre-pandemic.

– – – – – – – – – –

The sun came out and warmed UBarU to slightly above freezing! I was able to take the long path a bit more slowly, and in the opposite direction. I wanted to take pictures of favorite place–a huge tree, a cairn, the windmill and swimming tank, and the cottage where I stayed. [Pictures below]

After my walk I did something for the first time–poached four eggs! I’m sure I must have seen my mother or someone do that once upon a time, but I’ve never owned an egg poacher and never tried to swirl eggs in boiling water to poach them that way.

I did not expect to find a poaching pan in a cabin at a camp, but there it was in the back of the cupboard. I double checked directions on the web to remember how long to cook the eggs–3 or 4 minutes, I learned, over simmering water. They were quite delicious. Different from the scrambled eggs I thought I would cook.

After eggs, I finished the chapter on Silence. That’s a perfect topic to end a silent retreat! I wept over the story of two rabbis who faithfully wrote to each other before every Sabbath. Words are said to be the black fire written upon the white fire of the Torah. But when love felt too deep for words, the two old friends exchanged blank pieces of paper–white fire is even more holy.

Intentional, regular, exchanges with someone can deepen love. They might be letters, or weekly conversations, or perhaps unspoken prayers. Perhaps our words and prayers are the black fire on the white fire of the holy connections we share. With that, I am out of words…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.