Monday, April 1, 2013

The Scent of The Sacred Spirit

Fresh-baked Cuban bread and buttery biscuits, lime cheesecake, French pressed coffee, New Orleans brewed beer and red wine. What could be better ways to round out the Easter feast? All of these finishing touches were lovingly made by Maite's mate, Larry. What a baker he is! And such a perfectionist that Maite has to regularly remind him that his food is not to be hung on the wall; the taste is more important than the presentation. For Easter, everything was beautiful and delicious.

The morning dawned with a  fog so deep we couldn't see the marina just downstairs from us. As Richard and I sipped our coffee facing the marina, the fog suddenly disappeared and the sun glistened briliantly on the boats and ripples. We both commented on the feeling of resurrection of new life possibilities this brought to us. As the day of back and forth with our neighbors wore on, we felt a general feeling of celebration as that which we used to share with so many people in our various homes.

What may have dampened the days of many who had planned backyard Easter egg hunts, for me, was another gift of being back in Louisiana. We could see the dark clouds coming in on the water and could "smell the rain" coming. I have always felt extremely energized by the certain scents that waft in just before a major thunderstorm. It is the combined smell of the ozone that comes with the energy of lightening and the smell of fecundity of the rich earth in the swampland surrounding us. It is the smell of life for me.

Isn't that what we are told molded us? Sacred Energy was breathed into bits of earth, and humanity began. There is no place teaming with more life that the swamplands that are enjoyed by my ancestors, the Cajuns.  And The Sacred Spirit even has a scent. What could be a better Easter blessing than that?