Do you believe in the concept of a "universal ripple"?
I think about that concept almost every single day...and have come to believe that we are merely players in the ripple story of the universe. Let me share with you yet another example of why I have come to believe in this idea.
Last night and this morning, a very interesting sequence of events occurred…(1) last night--a total blackout due to high winds off of Lake Erie; (2) this morning--3 quotations--eerily connected to the tale from the night before--appear in my e-mail inbox via the daily inspirational thoughts shared by Jonathan Lockwood ...
"Universal ripple?" I ask myself..."I think so", I nod. Here's how my little ripple story unfolded.
Last night, I experienced my first "black-out" at our new Hilltop Casa. Yep, there I was, semi-alone at home with just me, myself and I and my sweetie pie and shadow-pal, Galaia, (our 18-year-old cat). Jack was out for the evening--playing at a private gig with The Boys of Summer, a WNY band for which he is the new bassist.
So there I was, in the studio space in our sunroom, music by Eilen Jewel filling the nooks and crannies of the entire house, a blank canvas covered in gesso waiting for its new face, and me attempting to envision and create another new painting. Frustration was running a little edgy since what I was seeing in my mind and what my energy was generating on canvas were ending up in quite a disconnect. I just couldn't "see the light" (sorry, couldn't resist that play on words!).
But, I deviate from the ripple story. Anyway, I had just squeezed acrylic paints onto the palette--dark violet, Payne's gray, and Titaniaum White--had just stirred them into an acrylic, somewhat psychedelic glob, and was beginning to let the rhythm of the music guide brushstrokes onto canvas. When...in a nano-second...deafening silence and blinding darkness. For whatever reason, my intelligent self responded calmly. In that immediate darkness, my mind pieced together a couple of relative facts. Fact 1: there were 50+ mph gusting winds and blankets of snow and ice crystal blowing across Lake Erie, which lies due west of our home; Fact 2 our new "Casa" sits open to the world--atop a hill, in that direct easterly path from Lake Erie; and, Fact 3: the gas stove heater in the sunroom was still burning so I wouldn't freeze.
Was I surprised? Yes. Did I panic? No. Did I act out of calmness and resourcefulness? Yes.
With a combination of reasoning and forethought, I had placed flashlights in every room after we moved to our new home at the beginning of this winter season. But you know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking that it wasn't necessarily my reasoning or forethought that brought about that action...no, I'm thinking that it was that after about the 30th person, upon hearing where our new home is located, had said to me, "Good luck with the winds and snow. You do have a generator don't you? My thanks go out to all of those friends! Immediately I grabbed the flashlight from the kitchen cabinet and checked on Galaia. Silly me. She's a cat...she can see in the darkness...and so, with her amber-gold eyes, she slowly stared into my eyes as if to say, "Mom, I'm trying to get some rest here." I love that little girl.
Well, then...I heard the universal ripple whisper a message-- to light some CANDLES! Without missing a beat, I went to the candle drawers (yes, there are two drawers in the built-in buffet that I keep filled with all sizes of candles!) and gathered up an armload of those little waxy wonders. I went to the china cabinet and took out the candelabras. I went to the china cabinets and took out crystal bowls and platters.
And then I set about creating candle vignettes throughout the entire front portion of our home--candles in the living room,
candles in the dining room, candles in the kitchen, candles in the sunroom (errrr...guess for the moment, it was the dark-room).
Once all of the votives and tapers were lit, I stood there, amid the flickering and rippling glow of candle flames.
No panic. No disappointment.
No irritation.
Just calmness and serenity.
For 3 hours Galaia and I enjoyed the glow of candle light. For 3 hours there was no sound but the gusting wind outdoors.
For 3 hours, there was nothing electronic to break into our solace.
For 3 hours, it felt as though time stood still.
And now, in the spirit of going full circle, I return to my initial question about the existence of a universal ripple.
Is there a "universal ripple" in the universe that often times we miss or are too busy to note?
I do believe that ripple is never-ending, forever-moving. And it was just this belief that came front and center for me again this morning when I opened my e-mails to read the daily inspirational thoughts sent to me by Jonathan Lockwood.
Read them and see if you find the synchronous rippling of the universe in last night's candlelight adventure and this morning's inspirational thoughts about--you guessed it--how it is better to light candles than curse the darkness!
At times our own light goes out
and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude
of those who have lighted the flame within us.
- Albert Schweitzer
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
- Chinese proverb often quoted by Eleanor Roosevelt
Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
