GENESIS

Every story has to begin somewhere and when the story begins, especially when it’s our story, we listen.

Once upon a time we began ....

Listen to the story -- the story of the Earth. It’s our story.

The Earth is filled with life. The Earth breathes. It’s breathing in and breathing out. Feel its breath. Feel the wind. Take its pulse. Catch its spirit. Walk in the garden in the cool of the evening.

Walk with God -- the God of Creation, the God of the Garden. Talk. Listen. Love. Give thanks.

Take off your shoes. Feel the Earth under your feet. It’s God’s creation, God’s gift. All is gift. All ground is holy ground.

Listen to the basic choices God gives us.

Listen to the basic warnings God gives us.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is in the Garden.

The tree of life is also in there.

God also gives us helpmates.

Talk. Communicate. Help one another. Make good choices.

Choose well.

Beware of snakes in the grass.

See the sparrows and the blackbirds. Watch the monkeys in the trees. Watch the willows wave in the wind. Watch the leaves fall in Autumn. Watch the snow in Winter. Watch for new life rising in Spring and flourishing in Summer.

Stand tall as rising wheat. Find time to look at the heavens. See the light. Stop to see the sun rise and the sun set. See the moon, the stars and the dark -- the vast vault of sky.

And all is good.

Stand still on the shores of Earth’s lakes and rivers, its seas and oceans. Water, water, everywhere .... Notice that the waters are like life: sometimes shallow, sometimes deep, very deep.

Come to the waters.

Walk into the water. Be careful in the shallow places. Life is everywhere -- if only we will see it. Go further. Dive deep into its depths. Be baptized in the waters of life. Know that we’re swimming in the ocean of God.

And all is good.

The Earth is interesting. Firm Earth, fluid waters ....

Life. Death. Time. My time. Am I having “the time of my life”?

Take time to read the story.

Listen. Just listen. Listen to what is happening on the Earth.

See this. See that.

And all is good.

Listen....

© Andrew Costello, Chapter 1, 

Down To Earth But Looking Up, 1999