Reflections on the Prayer of St. Francis - Day Six

Where there is darkness, light;

“However long the night, the dawn will break.” African proverb

“Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.” Rabindranath Tagore

Today I remember the moments before dawn in late summer. When I first opened the curtains, it was dark – but still light, with stars twinkling and the moon shining in the northwest sky. Later, I took the dogs out, and while they frolicked in the yard, I breathed in the fresh, dewy, cool air. It smelled of lavender, roses, and apples. The light was barely showing on the eastern horizon. I loved that moment, too.

Light comes from dark. The most lucid, energetic days come from a night of sleep in the darkest room possible. Even the LED light of a clock can disrupt that wonderful, deep indigo experience of total relaxation. So I try to make sure that all or most light is gone in the bedroom when I finally rest my head on the pillow. Then my eyes close in blissful darkness and I dream: I dream of the plans I have set for tomorrow; the meditation music I have just heard; the wonderful things I have seen, heard, tasted, touched, and smelled that day. I begin to pray the rosary and before I can finish the first decade, I am fast asleep. I awake exactly on time the next morning, still in the dark, but with the bright light of dawn’s hopeful expectation.

Every New Year’s Day, we look forward in prayerful, thoughtful reverence and expectation. We should regard each day the same way. A toast to a new day!