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Oasis

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Sharon


Almost every early morning finds me breakfasting on our sixth-floor balcony porch, come clouds or sun, rain or shine, hot or cold. It is open air yet provides enough shelter to protect from rain, unless the wind is blowing from the north or east, a rarity. In the almost two years we have lived here, and on a similar porch in the previous place we called home, this space and this habit have been a source of centering in disruptive, chaotic times. I tend a small flower garden as the seasons allow. I watch and delight in the geese and the hummingbirds. I rest, gaze, observe, learn, mull, and simply cogitate there.  I look up. I look down. I look at the world. I look inside myself. I set my eyes toward the horizon, and I wait for the dawn. I contemplate.


Over the years I have breakfasted on the porch, I have collected items that protect me from the elements of the seasons. A ceiling fan cools me on hot and humid days. An electric heater, fluffy blanket, cap of yarn knitted by a friend, gloves, and hot coffee ward off the cold of the Nashville winter.

I call this outdoor home my oasis. 

Some definitions of oasis:

Noun: a fertile spot in a desert where water is found 

Further elaboration: 

A small fertile or green area in a desert region, usually having a spring or well. Something serving as a refuge, relief, or pleasant change from what is usual, annoying, difficult, etc..

An oasis symbolizes hope, refuge, renewal, and abundance, representing a life-giving sanctuary within a harsh environment, a place where one finds peace, sustenance, and a chance to flourish against all odds.

Synonyms: shelter, retreat, harbor, haven


The furor after the shooting of Charlie Kirk last week has upped the ante for oases, not as places to escape or hide but rather as temporary dwellings in the margins that prepare us to act in ways that help our communities transform alienation into compassion.The oasis is an incubator for love. Even now there is more that unites the human family than divides it. Oases are readying grounds for the task of rediscovering the common ground that unifies us as a diverse human family.

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Comments

5 responses to “Oasis”

  1. Emily Passino

    I’m reading this on my own porch, where at this moment of the morning the light is yet to soften the dark, the birds have yet to start their conversations, and the nearby traffic is still hushed. I can hear a helicopter approaching Vanderbilt, and even it is muted.

    This morning practice of quietly awaiting the day on the front porch with a cup of coffee, letting my mind roam, started years ago when the children were young and I realized that starting the day without this buffer, plunging into the morning chaos of breakfast and negotiating various aspects of a family getting ready for the day, was a recipe for stress.

    We now have a quiet house. All the kids are adults and living elsewhere. Few mornings have a need for either Mike or me to even get dressed for the day.

    And yet this oasis of space and time is still, as you say, a readying ground. I’m appreciating the reminder that this space itself should be appreciated. That there is no immediate need to gather the newspaper from the driveway or check my phone for notifications. That rather than plotting my do list or racing through Wordle, it is healing and restorative to simply be present. To reflect on matters. To await the day.

    What does this day hold?

    What am I called to do?

    Who am I in this time of the world, in this chapter of my own life?

    Thank you as ever for this meditation, my friend.

    Reply
  2. Sharon Brown Christopher

    Oh, yes, Emily, my friend. Yrs! And your questions!

    Reply
  3. Cynthia Jones

    A Sabbath place , a thin place! I ❤️” The oasis is an incubator for love”
    May we not only find our own oasis but also allow and help create space for others to claim theirs . Thank you

    Reply
    1. Sharon Brown Christopher

      Cindy— Thanks for connecting Sabbath time and thin space imagery. And the invitation to help others claim this space available to us all.

      Reply
  4. Howard

    Yes, an Oasis, Sharon! You have a way of creating those for others with your thoughts and your photos.

    How about a “sit spot” to use the phrase of a good friend. My “sit spot/oasis” is an old desk chair I have in the dinette area of my apartment. Also have a chair on the deck that I use as well. The desk chair is more comfortable, so I spend most of my contemplative time there. After all these years, it is well molded to my body frame. In fact, it squeaks differently when someone else tries to sit in it. (Not really.) From both chairs I can look out on the lake where ducks of various types, geese, gulls, and turtles swim around. Never knew how captivating their behavior can be, nor how they tend to look after one another. Indeed, we are all linked to God’s creation and called to be stewards of it each in our own way.

    Please keep “gathering (those) fragments” and sending them on.

    Howard

    Reply

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