Goodness without limits
A view of the Ottauquechee River from Bridgewater Center Road in Bridgewater, Vt. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
On Saturday we were once again guests amid nature’s glory, with the Green Mountains wrapped up in a bright blanket of snowfall.
The winter experience often prompts us to think about weather as a barrier, or at least a very influential inconvenience in our day. It’s easy to embrace that thought, without considering the bigger picture, one of a scene that lightens thought and inspires. A snow-filled scene is another show of nature with a deeper expression: one reflecting a sense of unlimited good reaching all of us, and inspiring each place that witnesses it.
During a drive to Rutland just before noon on Saturday, heading over the Killington pass as the snow intensified, it was easy to become a bit fearful. Should we turn back? But in a short time, as I calmed my thought, the existence of harmony became more apparent. I observed the tall trees lined with snow, the graceful snowfall floating down and caressing the earth. Peace was reflected, I was part of it, and I felt I always had been.
That sense of the permanence of peace is an available comfort for each of us, today and every day. The pull of negativity can feel particularly strong, with the various issues of the world competing for our attention and demanding space in our thought. This time of year, we can sometimes feel the pressure of the holiday season, rather than the joy we all have a right to experience.
But it’s possible for each person to demand and expect to see good, because it is available to ready to be embraced, each moment. Examples of people uplifting each other, whether in grand ways or simple, are abounding even in the most difficult times. With every shop visited, every phone call made, and every card written, we can expect good to be realized. Even if we’re confronting a day that seems fraught with limits, that boundless good can shine through, and change our day for the better. That’s true for us all, and this means we have an ever-present opportunity to bring good into the world by witnessing it, cultivating it, and sharing it. That's a light we can bring into any moment, on any day.
— Gareth Henderson
