Taryn Strauss

Director of Religious Education

REflections

July 2009

This summer, I hope that amidst the camps, the picnics, the joyful reunions, the packing and unpacking, we also rest. My wish for everyone is a lost morning, a lost afternoon, or even (Spirit forbid!) a lost day. For so much of the year, I am trying to make the most of my days, to be as efficient or effective as possible. I want all my time to be quality. But doesn’t the true joy of summer lie in the opportunity to be lazy? This is where the seeds of dormant ideas germinate and warm in the mind’s deepest root systems. There will be time enough for fun, culture, music, and outdoor exploration. So often, I hear people talk about returning from their vacation feeling more exhausted and drained than they were before they left. I used to envy those families that do things together, like canoe trips, skiing, or snorkeling. When my entire family gets together, we rarely plan activities. Sometimes we organize the occasional mini-golf expedition or board game, but mostly we just sit and talk. We begin in the morning and talk effortlessly, and late into the evening. We pick up novels and put them down. We cook huge, simple meals. Mostly though, we stare at the ocean and back at the children, transfixed, and we share what’s in our hearts, the vital and the mundane, in an endless stream.

This is what I most look forward to about my summer. We place no pressure on ourselves to do something, and we literally lie around all day, talking. I suppose that’s why I place a lot of faith in the “talking meditation.” It’s difficult for me to experience a thing without sharing it, nonchalantly or with drama. The poet Tagore wrote that “the small truth has words that are clear; the great truth has great silence.” But I believe the small truths are equally as meaningful, and at this stage in my life I rejoice in them more than the great and silent truth. Either way, I hope everyone is blessed this summer with the effortless small truth, finding comfort, ease, and even laziness there. Rejoice and celebrate a respite from doing, in order to practice being.