Susanna (Anne Porter) and peace

Awake this morning to snow and cold and ....quiet.  My lovely husband was still beside me at 8:30am!  Ah, a little peace and less chaos; what a blessing.  I hauled myself to an exercise class I wasn't so sure I was up to, but it was joyful and just right.  During the class, the teacher told us of her travels through India and her time at several ashrams.  At one of these, she met an instructor who said to her that we have to consider whether we are

  living in peace, or living in pieces.

I thought about that throughout the class.  I think I often strive for peace, but have not only physical but mental chaos all around me.  This holiday season, I am going to try for fewer pieces!

try this from the Writer's Almanac:

Susanna (Anne Porter)

Nobody in the hospital
Could tell the age
Of the old woman who
Was called Susanna

I knew she spoke some English
And that she was an immigrant
Out of a little country
Trampled by armies

Because she had no visitors
I would stop by to see her
But she was always sleeping

All I could do
Was to get out her comb
And carefully untangle
The tangles in her hair

One day I was beside her
When she woke up
Opening small dark eyes
Of a surprising clearness

She looked at me and said
You want to know the truth?
I answered Yes

She said it's something that
My mother told me

There's not a single inch
Of our whole body
That the Lord does not love

She then went back to sleep.