How I wish all the people in the world could immerse themselves in the serene splendor of Pyramid Life Center in the Adirondacks. Just a few at a time, of course, so as not to disrupt the deep silence of a mountain dawn, when swirls of mist move across the still water, the loons' long calls the only sounds to reach our ears. I truly believe that to witness such natural beauty could help to quiet our strivings and create in us a desire to live in peace.
That was certainly true for me, when I first came here in 1991, full of woe for a world once again at war. How many wars ago was that? Over the decades, nothing much has changed for the better in the world at large, but I myself have learned to live more peaceably, thanks to the people I've met in this retreat center, people whose lives of loving and joyful service encouraged me to seek such a life as my own.
Out of gratitude for this gift of a new path in life, I now volunteer at the center, helping to ready the lodgings in spring and then, in the fall, to tuck them safely away for the winter. So that's what I will be doing this weekend, bagging up blankets and covering beds and helping with whatever needs to be done to ensure that the center can once again welcome hundreds of other peace-seekers next spring.
And of course, I will also be finding sweet peace of my own.
5 comments:
Wow, how beautiful!
I would love to volunteer next spring....I live in Glens Falls, can you tell me who to contact???
Thank you, threecollie. You should come visit here sometime. Not that your cows would give you a day off for pleasure travel. Especially in calving season. Congratulations on the new baby.
Hilary, if you Google Pyramid Life Center, you should find contact information for informing Sister Monica Murphy, the center's director, of your interest in volunteering. Or attending a retreat. All are welcome.
Wow! That last photo is beautiful!
Thank you, Woodswalker, for your wonderful photos of Pyramid Lake and some of its flora. Brought up for me many intense memories of years of summer and fall visits to the Adirondacks, walking the woods and beside the still waters.
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