We live in a world filled with seeming contradictions of purpose, of love, of artistry. And if we don’t experience enough of the stuff of victory, of affection, of vision-brewing-love, we adopt a stance of defensiveness, braced against loss.
(Can anyone tread water while bracing body against loss in liquid yum?
Or won’t we sink like the stone we become?
Lungs filling up with this overwhelm of something meant to nourish,
killing all the love-air.)
In a world like this one, we must develop the practice of bounty-hunting, the best kind…the kind of bounty overflowing stories of love in spite of loss, hope in the face of challenge, meaning beyond accolades and set rewards for fleeting achievements. And the only bounty on our heads a priceless opportunity for creative legacies of soul with no criminal bag and tag roundy round in the prison system created by fear.
(Here we float, breathing in life, not braced but poised with a graceful acceptance.
Water flowing all around, air filling lungs, heart singing earth songs…
sun shining across faces surrendered to the flow life and love can be.)
I’ve started a collection of true stories, good news and soulful happenings for my kids to read. It’s how we augment the news that bombards us whether we like it or not. It’s how I keep my two sons afloat in middle school purgatory. And my eldest reminded of her power. There is love pouring out daily, into fields of receptivity and hope, beyond our little home, beyond our own experiences, inspiring new expressions of love-in-action.
And adding to the collection of inspiring truth is this gem from Rebelle Society, an online community of writing creativity and soufulness supreme, who I’m excited will be including my own heartflow soon…
“Every sound in every syllable of the name the universe calls itself is love. It is radiating out of the blackness of space, it is what keeps the star at the heart of the earth burning, and it is the only damn thing that gets me out of bed in the morning. Trees are love. Skyscrapers, desert mesas, corn growing alongside the road: love. Also, the moon, a baby’s hand, chocolate, rain boots, and the keyboard I am using to write this. A thousand blessings are raining down on you all the time.” Sarah Twichell, from a rich Rebelle Society post for today.
We get to choose our focus even when the uglies sometimes race a freak streak through our lives. We don’t have to be in denial about those tragedies that scream need for change. We don’t have to turn completely away from issues we want to be involved in, fighting for love’s best. But we can both/and our dance through this slice of life. We have the power to turn our eyes towards those things most empowering, lifting us into the truth of love’s relentless transformation right at our fingertips, and the responsibility we can embrace through an inspired work of presence.
J. Ruth Kelly 
We try to choose our focus – very hard here in the so-called “Third World” where despair, even horror is never far away. But the problem is that I dislike living in a “bubble.” I can’t always just connect with the beautiful things (and there are many here too, like our garden). It’s really hard, but there is love too, even in the darkest and dirtiest places…
So with you in this… I can’t let go, not see, not experience the losses or shut them out, not just in the world at large, but in my own reality. What keeps me from succumbing to despair (sometimes nothing does but there’s always a bird singing or a love banging down the door of isolation) is the capturing of those beautiful jewels in the night, the hugs, the songs, the dreams that nurture us through the drought.
Yes – I understand exactly what you mean. It is about tapping into those nurturing elements in the Universe, and coming out so much stronger! As you mention the birds – they are among my strongest inspirations, and also for my husband… I feed and water them, and they are always close to our home.
Wonderful (love the avatar, by the way)… here’s to their songs keeping our hearts alive…