The Thing Is

Two lines that struck me....

1. "An obesity of Grief."

In pondering my experiences of grief...having it 

weighing me down like my own flesh only more so

would not be how I would describe it.

However, upon reading this, it was notable how well it fits.

2. "Hold life like a face between your palms...say...

I will take you, I will love you, again."

Isn't this a marvelous way to see your life...

every tiny bit of it? 

It sums up everything we are.

No matter how messed up we feel,

to be accepted and loved and taken again.

 

Redefining Success II

I'm dismissing the first verse.

"whisper I love yous to everything that hurts. 

Ask for help. 

Refuse to abandon yourself."

Sounds pretty simple doesn't it?

I find it less so in real time with real need.

We've been so conditioned to take care of ourselves.

Refusing to abandon yourself means asking for help.

 I don't know about you, but that is decidedly difficult to do.

"Not power, but presence."

Can presence overcome power?

I need to sit with this and imagine 

what that would look/feel like.

I'm so proud of the people of Hungary.

Not more more more but

how many miracles?

Isn't it interesting how mundane miracles

can become?  I know I take them for granted

every single day many, many times.

Blank Page?

Can someone return to being a blank slate?

I think adding a new layer to what's been written

might be more realistic.  

 

For The Children

I loved this adage until I thought about it some more.

"Stay together...learn the flowers...go light."

Going light feels wrong for these times...

especially when "staying together" means

ALL of us...no matter our skin color.

White supremacy does not move lightly...

it's heavy footed and cruel...

Yes, learn the flowers. Yes, stay together; and

yes to going light if light means shining it on

dark corners where injustice is occurring 

and people are NOT staying together.

 

Illusion's House

Though not easy to read, this seems especially pertinent

and worthwhile to be reminded of in these times.

" It is the ending of a story that was never true."

I've been doing a lot of pondering on truth these days...

truth about what I'm hearing in the news and social media...

truth in what is written in history books...

truth in what is displayed on monuments.

It's been sobering to realize what I learned

growing up was incomplete and/or distorted.  

I'm concerned about how future generations 

will be told about these times we're living through.

I'd like to believe it is the end of a story that was never true...

and that what endures will be the honest truth 

and not a white-washed version.  

 

Patriot of Place

This had me at the first sentence.

"I pledge allegiance to this river at my feet,

and to the tributaries from which it flows,

one watershed under the sky."

". . .every citizen tree in my republic."

". . .every creature seen or unseen."

". . .the stones...the bones...earth underfoot"

". . .together declare our sovreign residence."

". . .and by water's revolutions find tranquility."

And every one coming after it.

Wouldn't it be marvelous if this were 

the pledge made and lived up to by the entire world?

Why not???

Rivers, trees, creatures, stones, bones,  earth underfoot...

they're showing us the way.

May we listen and follow no matter the cost.

 

The Cure For It All

"Go gently, don't hurry or think about the next thing."

This is something to whisper to yourself often.  

It may sound simple but in a world of plans, calendars,

and activities with others, it's no small feat.

"Walk with the quiet trees."

I think of the countless times I walk among them,

and miss their magnificence. 

Yet, they stand present to me whether I notice or not.

"Forgive yourself for not meeting your unreasonable expectations."

And forgive yourself for having these unreasonable expectations.

"Allow the river of it all to pulse through eyelashes...

fingertips...bare toes."

These are all smart suggestions although, 

in my world, some things do need to be different.

It's a conundrum I cannot escape. 

It's reminders like these that provide balance

and sanity amidst the turmoil.  

It's reminders like these that will lead

to a better world for all inhabitants.

 

Instead of Lamenting

How does it feel to shift your thinking from aging to transformation? 

I feel like it's going to take some getting used to.

When I notice the incredible diversity and exquisite, raw beauty 

of decaying logs and stumps, it becomes somewhat easier...

especially when there is new life growing from decaying wood.

Aging calls for its own kind of grace.

A seesaw between accepting the creaks and groans and relinquishing to them;

and refusing to let them rule your days...moving anyway, staying young hearted.

Not giving in to the age old (no pun intended) story

that we diminish as we age.  Rather, making our story 

one of transformation into something vibrant, fertile and lively.