“Where can we find light in this never-ending shade?”
Asks Amanda Gorman, our 22-year-old poet laureate.
It has been a long and dark time.
We need no reminder of it.
So much darkness,
So much deception.
So much distortion
Of
Reality.
So much death.
And yet……….
Amanda reminds us:
“And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it.”
The inauguration of the 46th president and vice president of our United States, for me, changed it up.
Modified,
Shifted,
Ended,
Began
Again
Something else.
Something of
Inclusivity,
Of
Transparency,
Of
Possibility,
Of
Integrity.
Of course, of course—
There is so much to be done.
Of course, of course—
We are a major mess.
The fault lines
Horridly
And
Gratefully
Exposed
During these years
Call us into action.
We are
A broken nation.
We are.
What is possible?
What might be?
Who can imagine?
The day of the inauguration, for me was one
Of tears and inspiration and shift.
The night,
My dreams
Were filled
With
Running,
Fleeing,
Bad guys
Coming.
Hiding
And
Danger.
Old dreams
And
Current
Dreams
Merged.
I woke exhausted,
Confused.
And
Yet
Perhaps
With a modicum of hope,
I can begin to purge this panic?
With a dose
Of connectivity
And trust,
I can
Begin detoxing
This trauma?
Amanda tells us:
“Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished.”
Dear friends,
That sounds
Right,
So
Very
Right, to me.
We are
Simply unfinished.
I have two things to share, in this week of hope and heartbreak and exhaustion and possibility.
First, the heart of my heart, Our Mary Oliver, offers us this moment perfectly. I want to live into her invitation to life:
“It is a serious thing
Just to be alive
On this fresh morning
In this broken world.”
Fresh and broken?
Fresh and broken
In the same moment?
Yep, fresh, newly dawned, snowflakes softly finding their way to earth, effortlessly, perfectly.
Broken, indeed.
Loss and chaos and death and deception,
In the midst of
Slowly
Dancing
Snowflakes.
Broken and fresh, in the same moment.
All true.
All inevitable.
All sacred.
We can hold it all.
We are
Holding it all.
What does Mary mean by “it is a serious thing….”?
On some level, I hear it as a call to action.
To live into kindness,
Into
Connection,
Into
Connectivity,
To self
To other
To all.
What do you think?
~~~
Secondly, my next offer of inspiration to you:
Here they are.
In my world, (forgive me, this comment will both age me and wildly and flagrantly display my rigidity, at the same moment), music really hasn’t gotten better than this:
~~~
Our Thursday Wisdom Circles live with breath and teaching and inspiration and truth. Please join us on Thursday, January 28th, @ 2:00.
Your payment will indicate your registration.
http://coacharuni.com/thursdaycircles/
~~
Dear Friends,
Be well and be safe.
The darkness
And
The light
We get it all.
And here
Comes the sun.
Be warm
And
Be safe
And
Be smart
And
And rest.
Life needs us—
All blessings,
Aruni