There is a hidden meaning, a hidden beauty, in life’s most ordinary moments. It is the beauty of the human heart revealed, where what we have in common is greater than what keeps us apart. If we can learn to see the beauty in these moments, whether they are in the light or in the shadow, we become witnesses to the spiritual, testimonies to the sacred. We become true artists of the ordinary, and our life becomes a masterpiece, painted in the colors of the heart. A chance encounter with a boy on a bicycle, a young girl’s graduation from eighth grade — these and other small moments are the subjects of this beautifully written collection. Kent Nerburn uncovers the wonder hidden just beneath the surface of everyday life, offering poignant glimpses into the grace of ordinary days. Whether he’s describing a kite’s dance on the winds above the high New Mexico desert, a funeral on an isolated Indian reservation, or a dinnertime conversation with family and friends, Kent Nerburn is among a handful of writers capable of moving so gently over such deep waters. Ordinary Sacred reveals the hidden beauty waiting to be discovered in each and every life. “Kent Nerburn reveals to us that which lies beyond the surface appearance of reality. His writings are permeated by stillness. In a world gone astray, they are of inestimable value.” — Eckhart Tolle , author of The Power of Now “A delight to read...The spirit speaks on these pages — make no mistake about that. These heartfelt stories and spiritual teachings take us to the many rooms in the mansion of God. Walk lightly, slowly, and take them into your heart with gladness. The many beauties on these pages will touch your mind and nourish your soul.” — Spirituality & Practice “With clarity and poetic simplicity, Nerburn crafts stories from everyday experiences that offer lessons to the spirit and windows to the heart....Nerburn’s words paint pictures that are truly unforgettable. His book is like a magnifying glass designed to help us see beyond the surface meanings of life to the place where the ordinary touches us with its spiritual meaning and depth.” — Sacred Journey: The Journal of Fellowship in Prayer Kent Nerburn holds a PhD in religion and art and is the author of many books, including Letters to My Son , Simple Truths , Small Graces , The Wisdom of the Native Americans , The Wolf at Twilight , and Neither Wolf nor Dog , winner of the Minnesota Book Award. He lives in northern Minnesota. Ordinary Sacred The Simple Beauty of Everyday Life By Kent Nerburn New World Library Copyright © 2006 Kent Nerburn All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-60868-077-1 Contents Prologue: Saskatchewan Wind, DAWN'S AWAKENING, The Sermon of the Birds, MORNING'S PROMISE, Just a Kid, The Boy Who Wouldn't Leave, The Quiet Mother, DAY'S JOURNEY, My Father's Toolbox, Kite Dancer, Surprised by God, The Visit, TWILIGHT'S VEIL, Two Old Men, The Conversation, NIGHT'S EMBRACE, The Circle, Coda: Traveler's Rest, About the Author, CHAPTER 1 DAWN'S AWAKENING * * * The heart knows much that the mind cannot see. THE SERMON OF THE BIRDS We recognize the spiritual in all creation, and believe that we draw power from it. — OHIYESA, DAKOTAH SIOUX It is 5 A.M. on an early spring morning. I am in a garret on the third floor of one of the colleges at Oxford University in England. The early light of dawn is just beginning to cast a pale illumination on the pitched tile roofs and ancient church spires outside my window. I have gotten up to write because the birds awakened me. They love to nest among the overhangs and high stone chimneys of the red brick buildings of the college, and the promise of spring has brought them forth in full song. The birdsong is different here, full of unfamiliar cadences and unfamiliar melodies. These birds are making different music than the birds outside my window in America, and this fills me with wonder. I do not often stop to realize how different the music of nature is in each place on earth. But something about this birdsong makes me pause and take notice. It fills me, in a way far deeper than intellect, with a humble awareness of the beauty and mystery of the world around me. Do they know each other? Are they talking to each other? Is their exuberance truly in their voices, or only in my hearing? Does each mother know the chirp of her young, as each human mother can pick out the cry of her own infant from the voices of all others? Do they feel love? These are the questions this birdsong calls forth in me. They lean me toward God and the ineffable mystery of life. Our lives are filled with moments like these — ordinary moments when the hidden beauty of life breaks into our everyday awareness like an unbidden shaft of light. It is a brush with the sacred, a near occasion of grace. Too often we are blind to these moments. We are busy with our daily obligations and too occupied with our comings and goings to surro