A Lovers Story: Part One: Marc Gafni
Trailing Clouds of Glory
A number of years ago, I was teaching at a spiritual retreat center in Upstate Ny and was in the midst of a wonderful, yet not easy, couple of days. Teaching was beautiful. Yet I was also in the midst of what call a “deepening” in my relationship with two good friends there, Ronit and Gil — the married couple who were organizing the seminars.
As in every authentic relationship there are pivoting points where it either deepens and blossoms or wilts away. Well, we were at such a point and I was having a hard time fully appreciating their point of view. That is, until orientation the second week which, as always, was being masterfully led by Ronit.
In the midst of this evening I caught Gil watching Ronit as she was talking to the group.
A little later I glimpsed a momentary expression on Ronit’s face as she watched Gil doing his presentation. Both had such looks of utter love on their faces that I was jealous. Clearly they saw in each other a light and a divinity that, much as I loved them both, I was not able to see on the same level. I prayed to be open to seeing just a fraction of what they each — in the private images of lovers – saw in each other.
Wonder of wonders — the prayer was granted. Even if but for a moment I was actually able to enter Ronit’s love and get a just a glimpse of how she saw Gil. Conversely for a millisecond, I was privileged to see Ronit as a flash of light reflecting off of Gil’s eyes. What a glory it was to behold. In the magic of the mind the verse that found its way to my lips was Wordsworth talking about how we all, as new born babes, enter the world:
“not in utter nakedness but trailing clouds of glory do we come,
From God who is our home.”
We are born so beautiful and the beauty never fades. Our eyes just get tired and we stop looking.
Even though in later years I have had occasion to see their wound, their shadow and even ugliness, I refuse to forget their beauty.
posted on marcgafni.com
share comments on info@marcgafni.com
marc gafni
