chewing...on the fly

Two prods from that great cloud of witnesses:

In down-to-earth Hebrew,

to MEDITATE is to chew one's cud.

The familiar cattle of Hebrew existence

proved a helpful image for the devout believer

"whose delight is the law of the Lord

and who ponders God's law day and night" (Psalm 1).

The browsing cow nibbles constantly at the lush pasture

and when it has filled its stomach lies down,

regurgitates what it has gathered

and chews "meditatively" on its cud until the cud is fully assimilated.

---William G. Story

Because I am a woman involved in practical cares,

I cannot give the first half of the day to these things

but must meditate when I can,

early in the morning and on the fly during the day.

Not in the privacy of a study--but here, there, and everywhere

--at the kitchen table, on the train, on the ferry,

on my way to and from appointments

and even while making supper or putting Teresa to bed.

---Dorothy Day