Being a child of the universe and needing a broader perspective, I walked to the beach and laid down on the sand. I listened to the waves and the gulls and looked up at the sky.
I noticed my breathing was shallow so I followed my breath all the way down to my belly and back.
I felt the weight I was carrying on my shoulders. They felt as though they had been beaten down.
I allowed the heaviness to sink my shoulders deeper into the sand.
My body was grateful for the support.
I wondered if my mind might follow my body and release the heaviness of my thoughts.
These feel to be the heavier weight. And where would I put them if I were to let them go?
I must be careful not to just close the door on them.
I know what happens when you try to do that.
You end up pushing against the door with all your might while they push back.
A course correction, that's what I need. Simply being here. Now.
Allowing the thoughts to flow on by like clouds in the sky.
So this becomes my practice. Lying down on the sand. And maybe, just maybe, I can keep it going.
When I get up and walk, When I talk to people, When I read the news, When I come to understand the danger we are in and the hellish direction we are heading.
We are caught in a time where we can't rely on past expectations, a time where it seems impossible to envision what comes next.
We must trust in our capacity to respond and meet the moment, knowing that if one falters there are others who will step in.
We can be like the birds who return in the spring, flying in formation, with one bird in the lead.
When the one leading gets tired, another moves up to take its place.
What is privilege after all? Is it something you own or does it in fact own you?
Actually the privilege you have exists only by comparison to someone else. It is not otherwise a thing in itself.
Yet we have somehow come to consider it an important and valuable aspect of who we are.
You may not brag about it or consciously think you are better because of it.
But stop for a moment.
Consider all the people and places NOT on your wish list for trading what you think you have.
Perhaps you aspire in some way to "trade up" as it were - might be difficult to find someone interested in considering your offer.
So what to do with it? If you are curious, I would offer that you might learn to see through whatever way in which you find yourself privileged compared to others.
See through to where you can acknowledge and appreciate all the myriad ways in which you and these others are the same
Perhaps slowly, carefully, not all at once, allow some degree, of reveling in the extraordinary sameness you share with them.
This is called connection, and connection trumps privilege any day.
photo: linen bobbin lace figure by Luba Krejči 1966
gave me the space to realize we are currently at war or very nearly there
Yet we continue to assume, to blame, to ignore. Hard to imagine in a time when so much information is available we choose (it really is a choice) to assume, to blame, to ignore.
Friends and colleagues who are busy with their lives, Hard working people who are scraping by, Young people disillusioned or disaffected (as we all were at some point) realizing fairytale endings rarely happen and our history doesn't always make us proud.
All who feel to some degree it's someone else's job to clean up the mess.
I find myself searching for a sign to tell me that everything is going to come out all right
And then I remember how young a species we really are, I imagine we are still fumbling in our youth, not sure of our path ahead and what skills we will need or what successes actually look like.
Which is why the sea changing from calm to turbulent has led me to this place of reflection
Anticipating that I am at risk if I attempt to go into the sea by myself, I need the help of others to make my way through breaking waves amidst coral rocks
I cannot assume the return of calm, I cannot blame the sea for being true to its nature, I cannot ignore the crashing water and jagged rocks.
I cannot bring about a sea change. But with more people around me maybe together we can weather the change and keep ourselves from going under.
Change is, after all, the nature of things. Sea changes are just bigger and require more of us to meet the challenge.
Like a wave that you don't see coming
or one that you expect to be less powerful
than it turns out to be,
A force that sends you rolling upside down
or pushed to your knees
leaves you wondering which way is up and
how to get yourself back to solid ground.
This is how I feel being pummeled
by wave after wave of media headlines and reporting
that seems to augur an impending, inescapable doom.
There is a wave of extremism seeking to
punish women, people of color, immigrants,
registered voters and so many others of us
who hold tight to a life in a democracy and
who value the rule of law.
It is a denial of our shared humanity.
It is also, in fact, cruel and inhuman treatment
of the people with whom we share this planet.
It is a source of Great Sadness and...
It is also a Call to Action.
To remember that we have agency even when
we feel overwhelmed,
To remember that it is a minority in this country
that wish to control us in this way,
and we are MANY who stand against this wave.
We must be lifeguards for one another.
Working together we can do this.
