The beauty and peace of Umbria

A typical Umbrian scene

This is the view from where we’re staying in our friend’s Airbnb near Ananda Assisi.

In the five years since we were last in Umbria I had almost forgotten just how beautiful these hillside views are…and how it’s what you see in pretty much any direction you look.

And then there’s the quiet and sense of peace that pervades the area. Ramesha and I were speculating that perhaps it has to do with the fact that the vast majority of visitors to this area are religious/spiritual tourists — drawn to Assisi because of St Francis.

Whatever the reason, my soul loves it here.

“Now I sing: In Thy love I am free!”

This video of “I Wander With Thee” is from almost ten years ago; amazing how far video quality has come in that time!

Today I once again experienced the truth that if I’m stumbling over the lyrics to a song, it’s because I haven’t gone deep enough in understanding what I’m singing.

The opening song for today’s service was “I Wander With Thee,” one of Swami Kriyananda’s St. Francis songs. It’s a perky tune, sung in unison, and I think it’s often relegated to the category of “easy, simple, doesn’t have a lot to it.”

But it actually has a powerful message, which I was glad to finally tune into!

This is the introduction to the song written by Swamiji:
“In the spirit of St. Francis
Let us roam the earth
Spreading God’s joy everywhere,
And inflaming hearts with divine love.”

And here are the lyrics:
Father, now that I wander with Thee,
Flow’rs and fields are alive with Thy joy!
All that I owned to Thee I’ve given,
Now I sing: In Thy love I am free!

Father now that I dance in Thy name,
Birds and animals share in my song!
All my sorrows, all my merriment,
Join in music to set hearts aflame!

Observing St Francis’s feast day

Because no one knows exactly when St. Francis of Assisi was born, his feast day is celebrated on October 4, the anniversary of his death in 1226.

We hadn’t thought about any of this when the music was planned for today’s Sunday service. But through a series of serendipities (in hindsight, at least) we ended up singing two of Swami Kriyananda’s St. Francis songs: Make Us Channels of Thy Peace (which we even “randomly” decided to do in both English and Italian!) and Peace.

I love it when Divine Mother organizes things without our conscious participation!

A perfect capture?

Nowadays who can tell what’s real and what’s photoshopped? But even if it’s fake, I appreciate that someone thought of it!