Simple, jaw-dropping stuff ... aka, not so simple. (But probably everywhere.)

Yesterday I ate outside on a crystalline spring day in Washington, D.C. It was my step-daughter’s belated birthday celebration, and my husband and I were taking her to dinner. We sat outside in light and air that were exquisite.

At one moment I looked in the distance at a tree shot through with early evening light. Pure green leaves, gold light… it was aflame. As was my heart.

And I wondered: Has it always been like this? Really: Has a spring evening on this earth on a random night in May ever been like this before, this stunning?

Or ... has it always been like this? And I just happened to stop long enough ... to pause with fork on way to mouth long enough ... to notice, to truly see, if only for a moment?

In the story of the burning bush, Moses has to "turn aside" to see what he sees. Only later does he learn that where he has been standing is "holy ground."

In that all-too-rare instance, I managed to turn aside and truly take something in. Or did the tree, and the light, take me in?  Either way, I can’t really put words to it. Nor should I try. But I think you know what I am talking about. It’s in your backyard, too—whether actual or mental backyard--if you stop and allow yourself to be stunned: Oh, dear God:  How long has this been going on?

For further study in this vital matter of being (briefly) awake, courtesy of Marble Collegiate Church:  Sr. Carol Perry’s class on mysticism on May 9th at 10am and 12:30pm; and Rev. Dr. Michael Brown’s and Rev. Steve Pierce’s discussion on faith’s tough and essential questions at 1:30pm. They are light-struck trees in their own right; tune in if you can by clicking here at these times. (Classes are video-streamed live.)

In the meantime, may you find the thing, tree or not, that stops you in your tracks. Message received.