We hope this time of year finds you well and enjoying the fullness of the season. For Stephen and I, this time of year is so rich. We love Autumn and all the warmth of the homestead, a hearty meal and the love shared with friends and family that it embodies.
As you may know, we have been abroad since the end of peach season and will continue to be until the New Year. This “offseason adventure” we are on has been a dream come true for us. Thanks to advice from backpacker experts and the freedom we have built into The Peach Truck, we have been able to freely explore the world.
Our hope before departing was to serve, learn, and play while abroad. I can already say that we will return having had these experiences, but the "common" moments in between will linger in our hearts above all. So today we pause and are thankful for the common miracles.
Common miracles are too easily missed. I miss them all the time longing for something more profound or thinking about the next item on the to do list. We’ve discovered how hard it is to just be present. One of these times was in Kolkata, India with my in-laws and parents volunteering at Mother Teresa’s Missions of Charity. Yea it was like a little family mission trip of sorts…we had the best time! We spent some time being with men and women in a home for those that were sick and dying. There was very little to do outside of feeding and basic care for these beautiful people. Mother Teresa’s vision for this home was to give people a place to die with respect and dignity. This is a basic, simple, and powerful vision. So we sat with beautiful people and held their hands, gave head massages, and listened to their stories (even though we couldn’t understand them). We were with each other and we simply were together.
In his book Vagabonding, my friend Rolf Potts wrote about Peter Matthiessen’s exploration to see a snow leopard in the Himalayas. He never ended up seeing a snow leopard, but as Matthiessen later shared in The Snow Leopard, all was not lost. In fact, much was gained.
The gift of being. Being present for what he calls “the common miracles.”
Matthiessen writes: “The common miracles- the murmur of my friends at evening, the clay fires of smudgy juniper, the coarse, dull food, the hardship and simplicity, the contentment of doing one thing at a time: when I take my blue tin cup into my hand, that is all I do.”
And I will add, touching a hand that has lived a lifetime. Holding it and acknowledging its imperfections, wrinkles, scars, labor, and years. And seeing the miracle in that moment.
So this beautiful day rich with thanksgiving full of its tradition and expectation and love and sorrow, be. Be with someone. Be present cleaning those dishes. Be eating those mashed potatoes with gravy. Be pulling that peach cobbler out of the oven (see what I did there). Be present and we will try and do the same.
Cheers to opening our eyes to the common miracles.
Much love to each of you, as we The Peach Truck are grateful for you today!
Photo credit: Hart & Honey
