If, like me, you are having a hard time focusing this week, I offer this: Focus on the love made visible around you; Focus on the birds swooping in the wind; Focus on the willingness of so many to stand for change; Focus on the first blossom on a pea vine; Focus on all the … Continue reading Focus
hope
Listen
In 1966, Martin Luther King, Jr., said: "A riot is the language of the unheard." As my country experiences so much pain, so much injustice, so much anger, so much sorrow, and so much loss, all expressed in sweeping, massive protests, my intention is to ask: What, and who, have we refused to hear, that … Continue reading Listen
Opposites
On a day we heard of a terrible milestone of losses in our country due to the pandemic, can we feel anything but sorrow? This morning, on a walk in this beautiful valley, sun shining and birds singing, I pondered the invitations we receive, all too often, to divide ourselves from one another. It occurred … Continue reading Opposites
Our memories of this time
This weekend in the United States, we take an extra day off work to honor those who died in military service. "Memorial" - the name calls out our intention to use our memories in this way. Memory looks backward, brings the past into the present, brings those lost into our immediate awareness, and makes them … Continue reading Our memories of this time
The soft spot and the fierceness
Hold fear lightly, and touch the soft spot behind it. There lives kindness. Hold kindness lightly, and touch the strength behind it. There lives fierceness. On any day, at any moment, even if we can do nothing else...we can be kind.
We are here
In the face of overwhelming loss Loss of life and livelihood, of routine, of expectation We find it so hard to turn inward, and remember: We are here. We are one. We are here. **** The little poem above came to me this morning, after a(nother) night of "pandemic dreaming." I share it today, along … Continue reading We are here
Unite
A global pandemic teaches us, over and over again, that the myth of the single heroic individual is a limiting story. We can't be "left alone" to overcome a virus. True heroism involves cooperation and collaboration, coming together to help, protect, and heal one another. This is not "my land" on which to make a … Continue reading Unite
Together
Every time there is a flood, wildfire, hurricane - afterward, some folks decide to express their perspective that the victims are somehow to blame. Why do they live close to the ocean? Why did they rebuild there after the last flood? Fires come every summer, what were they thinking? Leaving aside, for now, how little … Continue reading Together
Service
A few thoughts on leadership: As we look to leaders on all levels - in our towns and counties, our state, our nation, our world - what we crave is the visible demonstration of commitment to service. There is so much uncertainty, every leader and decision-maker will err. No one will call every shot perfectly. … Continue reading Service
Earth day
Honoring Mother Earth means caring for the human, animal, and plant family she sustains. Our beautiful blue planet is not a source to exploit; it is a source to nourish, and celebrate. Today, sharing the Dalai Lama's Earth Day message: "Our mother earth is teaching us a lesson in universal responsibility. This blue planet is … Continue reading Earth day
Elizabeth Fountain, Author 