it was impossible not to laugh and smile together

In 2000 or so Ingrid and I and some friends visited a few of the countries that ring the Baltic. Estonia was one of our favorites and we were delighted to see it featured on this weekend's travelogue. This view is of the Old City portion of Tallinn, Estonia's capital. At the top left can be seen the onion domed Russian Orthodox Christian cathedral where I took shelter for a morning while the rest of our party continued to expore the town.

I am prone to occasional bouts of vertigo, one of which came on in spades as we clambered up the narrow, hilly street toward that church. The last thing in the world I then wanted to do was to keep on sightseeing, so I begged them to just park me inside and come back for me when they were finished, no matter how long it took. They finally agreed and I was left to my own devices.

Lots of tourists were continually arriving, sometimes in droves, but they generally left as quickly and I got used to them. I found a place that was pretty much out of their way and settled down, began first to feel better and then to soak up the atmosphere.

"Soak up" then became the literal operative word as I became generously incorporated into a small local service of blessing taking place in the cordoned off central portion of the sanctuary. A small priest in workaday vestments and a funny little hat was blessing his people with holy water. He had what looked like a horsehair brush, an inch and a half in diameter, with a handle of about nine inches and bristles half again that long.

They asked me through sign language if I wanted to receive a blessing and I let them know that I did. So the priest came before me, taking his time so that every bristle gathered all the water it could hold and then, with a smile, he slapped it onto my head, wrapping it along from the forehead almost all the way to the nape of my neck ~ and it was impossible not to laugh and smile together as we joined in this little bit of holy fun!

All in all, it was a major highlight of our trip for me. On the one hand, nothing much happened; on the other, there was an awful lot. I still haven't fathomed everything that was going on in that sacred space for that tiny, enforced bit of time, but something was happening, and the whole thing remains in my heart as a refreshment and an encouragement for my own personal, ongoing spiritual journey.