Some times, even in the darkest of times, all it takes to shift from darkness to light is a word
It may not feel like a dramatic shift showing up instead like a small opening or a change of direction, just enough to move you away from where you were
Maybe it serves as a ladder to bring up out of the rabbit hole you find yourself in
Sometimes you choose the word Often the word chooses you
Not long ago I was chosen by the word "orchidaceous"
I didn't know there was such a word I had never heard it spoken
I may never speak it myself but the fact that it conjured up the incredible beauty of orchids is enough
The point is that my attention moved into a place of wonder And that space was incompatible with whatever might be holding me in the darkness
That space won't be permanent but neither does anything in life remain always the same
So we must be appreciative of each of these small opportunities that bring a little light
If a door is open just a crack it could perhaps be wide enough to push it open even more.
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
