Reflecting calm

It's been quite a week: a friend's brother lost his home in the Louisiana floods, a friend's daughter miscarried at 14 weeks, we put our dog to sleep, tonight is opening night for a play I'm in, and my husband, who's been in school all summer, has his final test this morning.

So when we got word from another friend that his teenage daughter was in the ICU with blood clots, it was like, oh, dear, what else will we need to pray for and worry about?

And the truth is -- I don't really want to know. Because things are going wrong all over the world, for all sorts of people, in all sorts of difficult situations. I can't begin to encompass them all, although I can pray that my prayers for those whom I know will echo in the lives of others unknown to me.

At times like this, when I am hyper-aware of the fragility of life; when there are so many thoughts and prayers clamoring for space in my brain, I notice it's very difficult to stay on task.  So I begin again to make lists: pray for this, practice that, water these, notify people of this, do this, remember that... And I look for something to ease the clutter -- which is, I think, why this image appealed to me today. 

I look at all these peaceful faces, and, just as the act of contorting my features into a smile makes me feel happier, the feeling of reflecting these faces (those hyperactive mirror neurons at work again) helps me feel calmer.

I'm hoping that, whatever's going on in your life today, it does the same for you...