Posted by: Jan on July 23, 2008
Categories: Tales for the Spiritual Seeker // Comments Off on Down to the Last Drop and No More to Give
From tornadoes to hurricanes, floods to forest fires, there’s a lot to do, a lot to give. And sometimes volunteers, families and friends in the thick of it all may feel like saying:
“I’ve never been drained to the last drop. It’s a strange, hollow feeling to be so empty.” (Chapter 6 in Pathways: Tales for the Spiritual Seeker)
In the spiritual allegory, “Three Barrels of Wine: The path of good self-care,” there are several metaphors for how each of us can keep from getting emptied out.
• We’re invited to keep ourselves grounded and balanced with the “sights and sounds of everything in the heavens and on the earth.”
• We’re encouraged to see everything in perspective and not to lose sight of the big picture.
• We become aware that there is a Higher Power at work in everyone’s life and everyone’s hour of need.
• We’re reminded to know our own needs and to ask for help before we run dry.
• We’re assured we will be heard and answered. Our most mundane struggles and challenges can offer us our most powerful transformation.
And just like the three barrels in the story, some of us are not asked “to make music nor to lead the dancing.” For still others, ours is “not the task of cooking the finest feast or greeting all the guests.” For many of us, our job is to hold the water of our human experience open to be blessed and transformed by the Divine into the sacred wine of compassionate listening, giving, and sharing.
And as every cupful is dipped out, to ask for help to fill us to the brim again.
Janice M. Puta
Author of Pathways: Tales for the Spiritual Seeker
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