In this time of such devisiveness, it’s lovely to hear of alliances across a great abyss. Thank you, Sande, for sharing this delightful video.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lymQjNqR1t8]
Category Archives: Something to Share
Pray for Peace
Thank you, Louis, for sharing this beautiful poem from Ellen Bass.
Pray for Peace
Pray to whomever you kneel down to:
Jesus nailed to his wooden or plastic cross,
his suffering face bent to kiss you,
Buddha still under the bo tree in scorching heat,
Adonai, Allah. Raise your arms to Mary
that she may lay her palm on our brows,
to Shekhina, Queen of Heaven and Earth,
to Inanna in her stripped descent.
Then pray to the bus driver who takes you to work.
On the bus, pray for everyone riding that bus,
for everyone riding buses all over the world.
Drop some silver and pray.
Waiting in line for the movies, for the ATM,
for your latte and croissant, offer your plea.
Make your eating and drinking a supplication.
Make your slicing of carrots a holy act,
each translucent layer of the onion, a deeper prayer.
To Hawk or Wolf, or the Great Whale, pray.
Bow down to terriers and shepherds and Siamese cats.
Fields of artichokes and elegant strawberries.
Make the brushing of your hair
a prayer, every strand its own voice,
singing in the choir on your head.
As you wash your face, the water slipping
through your fingers, a prayer: Water,
softest thing on earth, gentleness
that wears away rock.
Making love, of course, is already prayer.
Skin, and open mouths worshipping that skin,
the fragile cases we are poured into.
If you’re hungry, pray. If you’re tired.
Pray to Gandhi and Dorothy Day.
Shakespeare. Sappho. Sojourner Truth.
When you walk to your car, to the mailbox,
to the video store, let each step
be a prayer that we all keep our legs,
that we do not blow off anyone else’s legs.
Or crush their skulls.
And if you are riding on a bicycle
or a skateboard, in a wheelchair, each revolution
of the wheels a prayer as the earth revolves:
less harm, less harm, less harm.
And as you work, typing with a new manicure,
a tiny palm tree painted on one pearlescent nail,
or delivering soda or drawing good blood
into rubber-capped vials, twirling pizzas–
With each breath in, take in the faith of those
who have believed when belief seemed foolish,
who persevered. With each breath out, cherish.
Pull weeds for peace, turn over in your sleep for peace,
feed the birds, each shiny seed
that spills onto the earth, another second of peace.
Wash your dishes, call your mother, drink wine.
Shovel leaves or snow or trash from your sidewalk.
Make a path. Fold a photo of a dead child
around your Visa card. Scoop your holy water
from the gutter. Gnaw your crust.
Mumble along like a crazy person, stumbling
your prayer through the streets.
— Ellen Bass, The Human Line
A Walk in the Forest
This lovely moment of presence from Nancy:
This morning, I walked in the forest. In a moment of joy, I closed my eyes and stretched wide my arms to drink in the cool silence. When my eyes opened, they focused on a majestic old ponderosa, barren and gray, yet still standing with unmistakable dignity.
I imagined that the ponderosa told me her story, and I listened. She told me of her good fortune to have taken root as a seed in a meadow bright and clear enough for her to grow without distraction. She told me of her growing years, of how strong she had been, and of her pleasure in taking part in the ponderosa wind chorus. She told me of the night lightning struck, burning her needles and branches and leading to the slow shedding of her bark. She told this without sadness, for she said she found other, subtler joys in her current embodiment. She chuckled as she told me of the honored place she holds among the ponderosa community, how they believe her to be wise and resolute. And, she told of her patient anticipation of the day she would return fully to the earth to nourish fresh new growth.
I bowed in reverence, thanked her for sharing her story, and continued my stroll, feeling full and blessed.
If you have something you would like to share with our community, please send it to me.
Another gift to mark Juneteenth
This incredible offering from Rhiannon Giddens, featuring Yo-Yo Ma. You can see it full screen on YouTube.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYDo0ZjXegM]
About “Build A House,” Ms. Giddens wrote: “This song came knocking about a week ago and I had to open the door and let it in. What can I say about what’s been happening, what has happened, and what is continuing to happen, in this country, in the world? There’s too many words and none, all at once. So I let the music speak, as usual. What a thing to mark this 155th anniversary of Juneteenth with that beautiful soul Yo-Yo Ma. Honored to have it out in the world.”
LYRICS: Build a House
For Juneteenth…
In celebration of Juneteenth, this incredible performance of “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” from Nina Simone… If you can’t view it full screen here, you can watch it on YouTube
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sEP0-8VAow]
When Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in September of 1862, he intended to free the 3.5 million enslaved men and women in the Confederate States, effective January 1, 1863. But Texas, the most remote of the Confederate states, refused to comply, and there were not enough Union troops on hand to enforce the edict. Texas slaves remained in bondage until Union army general Gordon Grancer ordered them freed on June 19, 1865, marking the end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth marks this liberation.
Although 47 states now recognize the holiday (North and South Dakota and Hawaii are the exceptions), only Texas, Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania deem it an official paid holiday for state employees.
Something to Share: Grounding
From Abraham, a link to the documentary The Earthing Movie: The Remarkable Science of Grounding.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44ddtR0XDVU]
On most browsers you cannot see this full screen embedded on this website. To view full screen, watch it on YouTube here.
A Sharing: Sande’s Poem for Mother’s Day
REACHING FOR MADRE
Standing in a parking lot caged
by fence too high, I, unsure
which room is hers,
search black-screened windows
for a glimpse of Madre. Sun
reflecting off metal flashing
blinds me. Transfixed by white light
I shade my eyes on a hot summer day
in 1973 sitting on woven Andean
blankets, on Quintero beach,
with Madre and friends, with red wine,
baby abalone, avocados and tomatoes
drenched in olive oil and lemon,
and panes pequeños to sop plates clean—
revolution cannot invade
our beach fiesta, our beach siesta. Continue reading
Something to Share… for Mother’s Day
I created “Perfume, an “illustrated moment,” a few years ago in memory of my mother, and post it again each Mother’s Day. With love, to Mom.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-Z2O9LNZOA]
Full screen mode may not be available embedded on this website. You can see it full screen on YouTube.
Some Sharings…
Billy Bar has lived as the sole resident of Gothic, Colorado, for 50 years
From Carol: Thursday’s class made her think of this article, Tips From Someone With Nearly 50 Years Of Social Distancing Experience.
“I love the idea of ‘keeping track of something,'” Carol wrote, “and holding a thought or an object for 10 breaths feels a little like ‘keeping track of something’ in an abstract way. ”
From Jack: A quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson in “The American Scholar”: “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.”
Poem: In the Time of Pandemic
Thank you, Greta, for sharing this poem. Greta also shared an article that provides the backstory of this poem as well as links to several other poems written in response to the challenges of our day: “A Viral Poem for a Virus Time”
In the Time of Pandemic
Kitty O’Meara
And the people stayed home,
And read books, and listened,
And rested, and exercised,
And made art, and played games,
And learned new ways of being,
And were still.
And listened more deeply.
Some meditated, some prayed
And some danced.
Some met their shadows.
And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed.
And, in the absence of people living in ignorant,
Dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways,
The earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed,
And the people joined together again,
They grieved their losses,
And made new choices,
And dreamed new images,
And created new ways to live
And heal the earth fully,
As they had been healed.