Weekword: Sacred

My dear friend John reined me in for this week's word, Sacred. As I responded to his email I kept typing Scared instead of Sacred. More than once....and I found that amusing. You do realize by now it doesn't take much to catch my interest. So here's my thoughts on the weekword, SACRED, hosted by John. Stop by his blog for others' take on the word.

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How similar those two words are, Scared and Sacred

Yet, with profoundly different meanings.

My first thoughts had to do with organized religions

that use fear to keep their followers 'in line'

often times obscuring the true sacred origins

And then I brought it closer to home

wondering what exactly is going on with me

feeling exhausted from the emotional roller coaster

that threatens to throw me overboard into a crumpled heap

And I realize I typed the answer in my response to John

I'm scared

I wondered why I was scared more now

than when my Mama was near death in the hospital

I mean besides a cast she's healthier than ever

And again I realized that when she was in the hospital

and I had those peeks to the other side

that I was feeling a true sacred connection

the one where the feeling of love and safety is magnified

where you realize that there is more than physical limitations

and what I see with my eyes

is only a fraction of what truly exists

that we are not finite

what I see with my eyes is a mere splinter

on that wonderful tree of life

Turns out that my daily exposure

to the news, to medical updates, family reports of woes

has dulled my senses

and I forgot that all of that is fear based

all based on someone being scared

and I was sucked in

And I remembered

that just like me

my son is here on his own quest

my job is not to keep him safe in a bubble but to gently guide him

as he begins his journey

his path is not mine to walk

as much as I may want to

That I have to trust and remember

that we each have something sacred inside

that will always guide us

The key is to look through sacred eyes

thus dulling the scared ones

There's a fine line between those two

but it makes all the difference in the world