I am back. It was good to be with family. We had a reunion of sorts, which my aunt seemed to get a kick out of in a very quiet and reserved way. She had quite a good weekend physically, with lots of visitors, and I half expect to get a call in the next couple of days saying she is declining rapidly now that the excitement is over.
I have a book at the office called Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, by Edward Hays. It has a special place in my heart, despite (or rather because of) the fact that it is grounded in what we in the bidness would term a “woo-woo” spirituality. You’re not likely to find it on the reading list for a course at a Protestant seminary. This is not John Calvin’s prayerbook. Ya got me?
The book includes morning and evening prayers for the different seasons of nature and the solstices, prayers for pregnancy, a prayer to say before writing a difficult letter, and other items for the various occasions of life. I have gained much insight from these prayers over the years. I also just love the book because it still smells vaguely of incense from the store where I bought it years ago.
Then there is the section in the book I’ve left largely unexplored, called “Rituals for a Planetary Pilgrim.” This section includes a ritual for fingernail trimming. I kid you not, Gentle Reader. There is also a poem called “Urine Ritual.”
Now, I am all about Jesus as the incarnation of God, and I have no use for a disembodied spirituality. Good theology needs to be grounded in everyday life, the messy and mucky as well as the miraculous. But I’ve never had much use for a urine ritual.
Except that today, I can tell you that I visited the toilet about eight times, and each and every time my kidneys and bladder did exactly what they were supposed to do, not only for my benefit but for my unborn child’s; and each and every time I realized how often I have taken such a simple unseen process for granted; and each and every time I felt a stab of sadness that my aunt’s kidneys are no longer functioning, and that she is slowly being poisoned by the toxins that are building up in her body, a process that is mercifully painless, but no less real.
It is the nature of things that sometime in the future I will take kidney function for granted once again, but today I do not.
A portion of the Urine Ritual:
O God of all life, as my body
now flushes out its physical impurities,
grant that all negative,
harmful and angry feelings within me
may be flushed out as well.
13 Responses to “i am back”
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» I have been remiss in posting SBJ’s latest stats: 23 pounds and 27 inches at six months. Yes, I’ve got the big mama biceps.
» Aaaaaand little she-who-is lost another tooth this week!
» SBJ is four months old, 19 pounds 5 ounces, and 26 inches tall. GIGANTOR!
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Welcome home.
I’ve given thought and gratitude for good kidneys and the fact that nails grow when we are healthy and need trimming. All the things and more that our “bidness” doesn’t discuss. I’ll look for that book. Reading prayers, like reading recipes, is a great comfort to me.
I’m glad things went well.
And they do sound like they would give comfort. It’s a Jewish practice, as well, to give thanks for your bodily functions. Funny that we consider those things under our consideration, isn’t it?
Thoughts and prayers for you and yours today.
“Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim” is one of those books in my office that is tattered and well-used. It is an all-time favourite.
I’m glad your visit went well for you. Good to have you back.
Welcome back! And soon, “Hello!”
Whenever I remember, I try to feel thankful that my bladder still works. (Those who read RM’s blog but not mine don’t know that I have MS.)
But more interesting than my urinary tract (to everyone but me) is the derivation of “woo-woo.” The term is also used in crime fiction, to describe a certain kind of mystery with a psychic bent.
It’s an onomatopoeic rendering of the sound of a theremin, samples of the most famous use of which are halfway down the page here.
Glad you’re back and that it was a good trip, even though the occasion is sad.
Welcome back.
XT
Love the derivation of woo-woo. That makes perfect sense.
I have never heard of woo woo before, and I’ve never heard of that book.
I also never heard that John Calvin had a prayer book.
But of course, I’m a renegade. (Either that or I’m not REALLY a minister and I’ve been fooling your all along.)
I’m glad that your trip was a good one.
We had a lot of woo-woo at my seminary: the Spirituality program was/is run by nuns! Pretty cool for the good ol’ PC(USA).
John Calvin definitely had a prayer book, but it was called the Psalms.
One of the things that used to get me steamed at seminary was that there were some…few thankfully…in the faculty who were openly disdainful of the “woo’woo” aspects of the spirituality program…or even the program in its entirety.
I have a pal up here who is all about finding the divine in all aspects of human existence. He can’t write liturgy without making some reference to body fluids of some kind…an interesting guy….who doesn’t have a lot of patience for organized religion, but has decided to become an Episcopal Priest ?!?!?! He would LOVE the urination ritual.
Original entry was edited to add a portion of the urine ritual (now that I’m at the office with access to the book).