Don’t Go Back to Sleep…

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell, don’t go back to sleep. Rumi

This is one of my all time favorite quotes– although my interpretation of it might be different than what Rumi intended when he wrote it.

To me the breeze at dawn symbolizes the clarity that comes after the storm. After truth has rushed into our world, there is a quiet that follows and within this quiet our vision is crystal clear.

That breeze came through my backyard on Saturday morning. Ajay was in the back yard booting a soccer ball as hard as his little 70 pound body would allow- and with one kick gone astray the sound of breaking glass pierced the air. I didn’t even need to look up from the dishwater I was engaged with to know what had happened.

We have snazzy little carriage lights that line the perimeter of our home on all four sides…. After Saturday morning exactly 50% of them no longer have any glass panes left in them… because they all seem to end up on the losing end of a collision with a soccer ball flying off the foot of our child.

As I dried my hands and opened up the back door a wide-eyed Ajay was stuttering out his apology- but the breeze at dawn kept me from hearing a single word he spoke. All I could hear was the Universe reminding me that there were 17 families in Florida who would give anything….ANYTHING on this earth, to have their child break a carriage light in the yard….

That breeze blew on…. And I was grateful for the mess-  I pulled Ajay close and reminded him of the children in Florida who would never again be able to kick a ball and the parents who would never again get to clean up a mess that their child had made.

After that we swept up the shards of glass in silence…. And although he never said so, I am sure he was listening to the same breeze that I was.

I wish I could tell you I am always this patient and aware- but of course I am not…. But the breezes at dawn have secrets to tell, and I had not yet gone back to sleep.

Why do we keep going back to sleep?