The bells

Our house is close enough to the Methodist Church that we can easily hear its bells, which toll the hour several times a day and play music once each evening. I enjoy sitting in our screened porch and listening to the evensong. Recently, I have heard the bells more often than usual, because windows have been open throughout the day as a result of the lovely spring weather.

Thinking about the bells reminded me of a journal entry I wrote about them a few years ago, in which I reflected on what I had learned from listening to them. So here it is. [With one parenthetical update...]

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May 4, 2005
The village is small and the Methodist Church centrally located, so one can hear its bells from most places. They chime on the hour, marking the passing of the day. [Actually, the bells only chime the hour 4 times a day - 9 AM, 12 noon, 3 PM and 6 PM...I didn't know that at the time and just assumed I didn't hear them the other times.] They are rhythmic and predictable, like the ebb and flow of daily life - time passes, and we are engaged in activity. And then, at night, they stop. I didn't realize that was the case until I found myself unable to sleep early one morning. I was up from around 3:00 until about 6:00, when I realized I hadn't heard the bells. But that is as it should be - there must be times in our lives for quiet - for rest and reflection.

Once a day, the carillon, after chiming the hour, plays 2 or 3 hymns. I try to stop what I am doing at that time each day and listen. It is vital to allow onself these times, too - to enjoy beauty (perhaps from music, like the bells, or others may find loveliness elsehere - art, nature, animals, whatever speaks to each individual soul.) These times of "drinking in" - not actively doing, merely being, and receiving a gift of beauty and peace - are essential for rekaxation, renewal and refreshing, so we can go on with the activity of our days. (I go back to whatever I was doing before I stopped to listen to the bells.)

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Hope your life is filled with beauty, wherever you are.