Surrender to the Moment

The New Mexican desert surrounding Santa Fe and Taos is full of inspiring and beautiful natural scenery as well as man-made wonders. One day last week, on our recent trip to the area, we encountered a unique and beautiful site. El Santuario de Chimayo sits in a green valley in the middle of the desert north and east of Santa Fe. It is known as the Lourdes of America. Legend has it that early in the 1800’s people found healing and miraculous cures in the dirt of the hills surrounding this small chapel. Testimonies of the miraculous spread over the years until today hundreds of thousands of people make pilgrimages to this spot every year.

As we pulled into the parking lot, I could sense that we were entering a special space where countless people have come with hope seeking healing and peace and have left a bit of their essence of faith. As we walked through the grounds, the rough hewn sculptures of wood and stone stole my heart and pulled me deeper into the feeling of this place. Walking into the sanctuary, the too-warm stuffiness of the small dark room that might have otherwise made me want to retreat was quickly forgotten. The inside of the chapel was just as rough hewn and quaint as the outside but again completely stole my heart. My husband and I sat on a rough wooden bench toward the back on the left side, closed our eyes and just surrendered to the moment. I cleared my mind, my emotions and my connections to my physical surroundings, visualized a grounding cord descending from the end of my spine down into this unique piece of earth, visualized a beautiful golden cord of light ascending from the crown of my head up to the Divine and just tried to be with this place.

Where did the legends of the healing dirt begin? What prompted the first pilgrims to be so drawn to this spot? What continues to bring over 300,000 people per year to this place? As my heartsong began to vibrate with the heartsong of this place, I did not receive answers to these questions but I did deeply “know” something wonderful. . . my deep desire for healing and transformation into who I am meant to be resonated deeply with some kind of help that resided in this simple but sacred spot. Almost an hour passed before I felt full, satiated and ready to move on.

If we pay attention, there are sacred places and/or sacred moments that are trying hard to help us. Whether it is the hopes, dreams and faith of those who walked there before us or whether the place itself holds some kind of special feeling or essence – these moments and places abound. Yet we can completely miss the blessing if we don’t stop and surrender to them.

The universe and/or the Divine provides us daily with a rich environment full of help, wisdom and love tucked into obscure circumstances, places or encounters. Do you watch for them? Do you find them? When you encounter them, do you surrender to them?