Presence

“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.”

Francis of Assisi

Spending any time at all in the Bield is a joy and delight in so many ways. Visually the well-loved grounds and gardens offer an eyebath for the soul; nature in all her glory.

The colours and scents, some almost celestial, manifest the love and care given in their nurture. Our bodies reaping the harvest of the walled garden celebrating purity and diversity in the food we are blessed with.

We are welcomed, wrapped in the blanket of warmth and hospitality offered by the sanctuary of The Bield itself and all the staff. 

Gracefully our bodies surrender to `Bield time` allowing our breathing to slow, our minds to settle, releasing the external world refining our awareness of the inner world absorbing all The Bield offers.

One of the many ways in which The Bield is such a blessing is in the palpable sense of presence it exudes.  The Bield enriches every sense with an almost mystical presence softening the edges of separation from others. When boundaries blurr it becomes easier, the most  natural way of being opening to and willing to receive God`s love.

Here we are blessed with trees to confide in, chickens clucking their love as they brush past us or sit on our laps. Read the words of the blessings in the centre of the Labyrinth we allow them to float gently and deeply within reconnecting our minds with our hearts where we rest in God.

This gentle grace of Divine love and beauty is where we lose ourselves to become a part of His presence. Remembering how much we are really loved; who we truly are, innocent children in God`s eye, loved equally and uniquely in the eyes of God.

We hear this as the doves coo ` I love you, I do, I do`. We hear it in the timeless anchoring presence of ancient trees of all kinds that populate the Bield.  Their leaves whisper, as the warm autumn breeze embraces us ` Hussshhhhhh rest in ussss…'

The glow and streaks of sunlight driving away the shadows as St Francis reminds us as clouds float gently by. We are surrounded by the divine, inspiring the Holy Spirit in every breath, enveloped in His glory and His love.  Here, as Einstein reminds us,  time does not exist; at The Bield we are blessed with timelessness allowing deep surrender into this immensity of love, with space in which to welcome and receive the Divine and each other.

Perhaps, if you have a few moments, close your eyes and listen for the sounds of the doves telling how much they love you. Hearing the water in the Zen Garden fountain; allow your senses to become aware of the woodsmoke curling within your nose, with the damp backdrop of autumn leaves.. Being aware of the air caressing your cheek and, for a few moments, transport yourself across the miles  in your mind and allow yourself to be here, in The Bield. Here, where the sunlight is soft and gentle.. Hark…. can you here the bell pealing in the twilight air calling us to prayer or dinner…

In all of this, The Bield is multi-faceted, holding us in every dimension, our souls resting in God`s Love.

“To have been in the Light together has been good, but when we leave one another let us not leave God!” St Augustine