Some Kind of Heaven (Katie)

Stand still. The trees ahead and bush beside you are not lost. (Albert Einstein) 

There is a spot that I especially love in Central Park, a place where I always stop toward the end of my walk at the top of Shakespeare’s Garden. I am invariably alone because it is off the beaten path and I can look down over the gardens, or up through the trees that make a canopy above. I turn off my iPod and tune in to the sway and swishing of the leaves, the sounds of the birds and the ever changing garden below, “…Earth’s crammed with heaven…” as Elizabeth Barrett Browning said. I don’t stay more than a few minutes, but I find myself saying a prayer more often than not. I feel like my prayer is more concentrated here, more than church, more than in the quiet before falling asleep when there is static from the day’s distractions, as if the whispering leaves bundle and translate my offering, carrying it away on a breeze to some place I hope is out there. Over the last two years I’ve especially said a prayer here for my college friend Karen who has been battling breast cancer. She isn’t a believer, but I told her about the spot where I prayed anyway, and I think she was happy prayers were being sent her way. A couple of days ago, as I looked over the garden, appreciating the summer colors, I said a prayer of sorts to Karen, hoping she had discovered that place, that it was some kind of heaven.

It is said we have the ability to make heaven on earth, which seems like a great hedge in the event there isn’t one elsewhere. Maybe we do if you consider the turnover of earth, the planting and tending of the seeds of creation already here as creating some kind of heaven. Finding one place Like Shakespeare’s Garden and considering it my own; a place like this and considering it my own, a place where I can stand still, so that no matter what’s going on in my life, like Einstein said, I am not lost.  In challenging times, a place to feel my feet planted on the ground, in good times, a place to ponder and appreciate. And, a place to think of long time friends and smile.

As I came down the path leading away from the garden, I came upon a turtle plodding along just outside a low wire gate and far, in turtle steps, from the lake. I flagged down a park worker cutting the grass inside the gate to ask him if he knew if the turtle should be there wandering. “No, I didn’t realize I’d left the gate open. Thank you! She is looking for a place to lay her eggs. It’s that time of year you know,” and with that he scooped up the turtle to walk her across the grass to the lake’s edge, being sure to close the opening.

We creatures of the earth struggle, whether the lowly turtle lost on the path, or my mighty friend hanging on through chemo, surgery and more chemo until she couldn’t take anymore, the cancer finally declaring its victory. Yet, we can also bask in the comfort of a shady tree in summer, or a friend’s warmth any time of year, it’s a wonder we don’t notice more, the simple and sublime. Because the struggles will come, seems to me we might as well stop and notice that the leaves are swaying or the turtle is out of place.

My hope for you this summer is that you are fortunate enough to find a your own Shakespeare’s Garden, maybe it’s a bench in your own backyard or a favorite coffee shop, and that if you are not inclined to say a prayer, then maybe just whistle a happy tune…someone might hear. (Katie)