This year I have been looking for a newborn boy in a simple, small house. Whether animals also lived in this house is uncertain, but not improbable. Tradition has it that a donkey and an ox once found refuge in this house. They stood over their manger filled with straw and ruminated. For those who have ever observed a cow or other animal “ruminating” (which refers literally to chewing, swallowing, bringing the cud back up, and chewing some more), rumination can be compared to meditation: a slow, regular, repetitive movement. The straws of hay give a special sound as they are gnawed by the teeth. And then, when it is “eaten again,” the sound creates a slightly different melody. Rumination is a kind of contemplative music which inspires the soul to be quiet and content. I spent a lot of time with cows and sheep as I grew up. I remember how listening to the endless chewing instilled some kind of unity between me and the animals.
A Christmas meditation
A Christmas meditation
A Christmas meditation
This year I have been looking for a newborn boy in a simple, small house. Whether animals also lived in this house is uncertain, but not improbable. Tradition has it that a donkey and an ox once found refuge in this house. They stood over their manger filled with straw and ruminated. For those who have ever observed a cow or other animal “ruminating” (which refers literally to chewing, swallowing, bringing the cud back up, and chewing some more), rumination can be compared to meditation: a slow, regular, repetitive movement. The straws of hay give a special sound as they are gnawed by the teeth. And then, when it is “eaten again,” the sound creates a slightly different melody. Rumination is a kind of contemplative music which inspires the soul to be quiet and content. I spent a lot of time with cows and sheep as I grew up. I remember how listening to the endless chewing instilled some kind of unity between me and the animals.