We are soon (relatively) going to emerge from a very traumatic, collective experience. As we do this, there will likely be new waves of grief for what we’ve experienced, what we’ve lost, or what we’ve missed out on.
All of this is real, and we certainly don’t need to snap our fingers and be back to it.
But as we do this, I also wonder what might surprise us.
Death Valley, a desert in California, gets its name for obvious reasons. It’s rare for much to grow there. Most of the time, it’s just not habitable.
But every once in a while when the conditions shift, seeds sprout all over the place. Often, people didn’t even know these seeds were there… And Death Valley experiences a surprising phenomenon called a Super Bloom.
We certainly place hope in actualities we can count on. Thank goodness we can name and trust some of those. It takes courage, perhaps, to place hope in the possibilities we cannot fully anticipate. Yet often, life is found right there.
Even in the driest of conditions, some of those possibilities can begin to form –
When people discover new visions for their communities,
When voices long-silenced rise into leadership,
When we discover the gift and grace of unanticipated abundance,
When Love becomes the foundation of resilience and liberation . . .
Yes, a Super Bloom.
May it be with us.
Smuggling Grace 