It’s cold again here, but not frigid, and the sky is a beautiful, open blue. I think of Mother Earth stretching and licking her paws, just like a cat, when I see a sky like that. In my morning meditation, I’m reading Henri Nouwen’s essays on Being The Beloved, and idea I am drawn to.

For some, this idea means being loved by God, to others – me – it means learning to love myself, and my life. I know now that if I don’t love myself, no one can love me. And I can’t love anyone else. As I approach this idea of being Beloved, the anger and fear melts away, and I feel hope and joy, and a peacefulness that is new to me.

“…being the beloved is the origin and the fulfillment of the life of the spirit. Becoming the Beloved is the great spiritual journey we have to make.”

This morning, Maria came and pulled me up out of my chair and we danced to Van Morrison for five or ten minutes. Can I love myself, I wonder? After all this time, can I really do that? I guess I’ll find out.