Side by Side by Side by Side

". . .in this vast, cold, expanding world, we have been given

the capacity to trust."

This is no small thing.  Trusting is not for sissies...

it asks for care and discernment as you leave childhood,

where you are indeed fortunate when given

 a healthy foundation for trusting.

May we strengthen and tighten 

our capacity to trust each other

in our local, personal relationships and  communities 

in order to offset the loss of it in the more public places.

Life is not a video game and neither is trust.

It's heart to heart and skin to skin.

Namaste

"we feel it. . .the gift of loving each other, dark though it may be."

 

The World Crumbles

"And still we keep it together."

What, exactly, are we keeping together?

Our sanity? Our Democracy? Our human dignity?

Our empathy?  Our compassion for others and our planet?

All of the above?

"The weight settles, and still, we keep breathing."

A dreadful weight it is.  Yet, our breathing continues.

We do everything we can to halt the rich men's war games,

and still, they continue, and still, we keep breathing.

"The pain growls, and still, we find ways 

to quiet the ache. Open arms, 

hands reaching  for each other. . .

I'll help you carry the day."

We may find ways to quiet the ache.

I believe we are learning to carry it,

woven into the fabric of our days.

Together...with and for each other...

Minneapolis showed us, as are

countless communities across America.

We refuse to give up on Democracy,

We refuse to give up on life, liberty and justice FOR ALL.

Namaste'

 

This Is What Life Does

 

This Is What Life Does

This is what life does.

It smooths your edges; quiets you down

Brings you to your knees; your creaky knees.

It gives you a new sky each morning

Which you can enjoy, remark upon, photograph, paint, fuss over, ignore.

This is what life does. 

It levels you; removes the rungs, if you're lucky,

and gives you a field where everyone can play.

This is what life does

It takes away your father the year you turn 40.

It keeps your mother alive to cry and 

wish she could die; Past 95.

This is what life does.

It gives you daughters who stump you when they're younger 

and dazzle you more and more as each day passes.

And grandchildren! Oh the grandchildren!

A paradise of all things miraculous.

And a man; a man who loves you and sticks by you

even when you're someone you don't even like much.

This is what life does

It gives you a neighbor the same age as your mother;

blind and lame, living alone, minus daughters,

minus grands, with an attitude you marvel at...

always upbeat, always alert, always welcoming.

This is what life does.

It surprises, quiets, astonishes, dazzles.

It terrifies you with all sorts of scary imaginary and real things.

 And it gives you poets, and stories, and teachers and farmers 

and artists, and  musicians and music to make you dance 

even when you're driving.

Nurses, cooks, workers, and neighbors and friends.

And the mountains…the glorious Smoky Mountains.

And Jones Creek Road and Timber Ridge

And flame azaleas and goats beard in your garden

This is what life does

It takes you to new places of evolution

And yes, erosion and decay

But also expansion…in a good way

It molds you and forms you and gives you away.

KAStilwell

Invocation

Isn't this exquisite?

I'm especially drawn to:

"Let the verbs noun.

Let the nouns verb."

 

and, without pause:

"Let the land speak."

May we--Listen. Listen. Listen.

May we weep together at the disrespect and suffering.

And rejoice together at our amazing resilience.

And work together to bring about a truly thriving place

where all of us can reside and remain.

Let. It. Be.

Namaste'

Smaller Than I Thought

 Most of us steer clear of the topic of death with ample reasons.

Yet, when reading this, I encounter a sense of comfort.

The fear and foreboding steps back a notch, 

giving me the willpower to dwell on the subject 

even with all the heavy feels that go with it. 

With surprise, I discover  it troubles me less.

The idea of melting into the soil and,

becoming part of every living thing, 

appeals to me. 

I remind myself no one....NO ONE

knows what its like to be dead.

Of course we know from this side,

 they are no longer here in physical, 

tangible form, and that's excrutiating.

 but we have no idea what it's like for them. 

They might be out there  "living" it up.

Who knows?

We will when we get there. 

"It is imaginary.

It is real.

It is love."

Return

"Please. . .do it for those who think they must hide,

numb, tame, tidy up, puff up, tamp down, down, down."

I am one of these in every comma...It's unsettling to be recognized.

I thought I would have learned more after all this time,

yet each of these found its mark down deep where I hide.

"do it because the world is dying from lying,

dying from caged truth--dying from too much of too much."

Dying from more than enough and never enough; 

from  "I must be greater, I must be greatest; 

the best of the best, and, mostly, better than you and you and you.

Incapable of entering the halls of equality.

"Do it because you are an undeniable work of art."

This is the line to etch into granite wherever you can.

To post on every mirror in your vicinity and

 every zoom call you appear in.  

Think it whenever you sign your name or log in.

Live into the truth of it.

It matters.

You matter.

 

Trusting Life

I would add, trusting yourself as you live your life.

Trust you will be aware of and open to growth and wisdom.

Trusting you will navigate with the best within you.

That your resiliance is growing through every event.

Trust that whatever happens, you will meet it with all you are capable of.

Trust that you are not alone no matter how lonely you're feeling.

Trust that help is available whenever you need it.

Trust that you don't have to be flawless...you don't have to know everything...

you are good and decent and that matters...you've got this...

We're in this together.

We are prevailing.

Namaste