In remeberance of a Friend

On 10/20/07 Madeleine read her translation of Psalm 43

at a Community of the Labyrinth Workshop at Brigid's Place

To make a long story short I offer a picture of a friend tonight, Madeleine Manning. She was so awesome, and I mean that in a non valley girl way. She inspired soul reaching awe in me with her words and actions. She died last month after loosing her battle with ovarian cancer.

Tonight I was looking through pictures of me, I don't have any ugly ones. Well, I don't have any where I'm not trying to look my best. This reminded me of Madeleine and how she had posted pictures of her with no hair. Pictures of her with the halo screwed into her head, in preparation for radio surgery. She had pictures of her at her best and her worst and she was beautiful in them all. Beautiful because they were honest. So honest. She always said what she believed to be the truth about every situation. I didn't set out tonight to honor her in the blog.... that only I will read, but I found myself, once again, in awe of her.

Psalm 8

O Exuberance in whom we live,
All the earth tries to put a name to You who
take our breath away! -
You! who are as far beyond our imagining
as the furthest galaxy!
In the mouths of babes and infants
You have hidden yourself,
Safe from our effort to contain You
In our concepts, even in our quarrels.
When I look at the vast reaches of space,
and imagine You weaving them
- the moon whose echo I feel in my blood,
the stars who burn in my cells –
I am filled with amazement that You are full of care for me,
For each one of your family.
You share so much with us that we fancy ourselves Privileged.
I exalt that instead we are gifted.
You offer all for our delight; we suppose it is for our purpose.
You teach us to make allies of our fellow animals;
And instead we call ourselves their lords.
We fence friendly fellow creatures into plots of land
we call our own,
- Birds into cages, fish into aquariums -
We fail to notice birds create their own trail on the wind;
Fish create paths of their own in their sea-homes.
We name you Lord,
Only to assign ourselves to Your role!
How the earth laughs!
How the world cries.

© 2001 Madeleine W. Manning