Image Description: Many tea light candles close together.
Sometimes, I find hope here…
There’s enough.
There’s enough, and in fact, more than enough to have substantive change in this world. There are enough varied skills, talents, positions, forms of action, sources for inspiration and imagination, and resources.
What feels scary in this time is that harmful forces are organizing and becoming more entrenched in their power. So more is likely required of us in our skills, talents, positions, forms of action, sources for inspiration and imagination, and resources.
But there’s enough. There’s always been enough.
There’s still more of us and more of these than is needed to enact and build substantial change.
Image Description: A placard at Fourth and Walnut in Louisville, KY, marking the spot where Thomas Merton had a significant spiritual realization.
Any Place and Any Moment
can be the Space and the Time
of Revelation and Awareness.
Any single place and any single moment can open us to understanding and connection.
I’ve been learning a bit from Thomas Merton lately. Merton (1915-1968) was a Monastic Christian who lived in Kentucky. I love a particular both/and in his personal faith: He was a mystic, yet not at all removed from the world. He delved into some of the largest challenges and traumas that humanity has faced. He was a practical theologian and a humanitarian, grounded deeply in a sense of mystical communion with God and other people.
These two aspects of Merton’s faith really came together when he was simply standing at an intersection. He was standing on the corner of 4th and Walnut (now Muhammad Ali Blvd.) in Louisville, Kentucky. As he watched people walk by, he was suddenly overcome with a deep sense of connection. He said he was, “suddenly overcome with the realization that I loved all these people. . .” as they “walked around shining like the sun.”
It changed his whole life.
He probably wasn’t expecting that when he was out running some errands. But any place and any moment can introduce us to a revelation of understanding and connection. Any place and any moment.
When in Louisville a few years ago, I went to this corner. It’s really fitting because there’s still a great deal of foot traffic. There is a placard that commemorates this place and moment, and right behind it, is 4th Street Live — two city blocks typically blocked off for foot traffic with restaurants, and often, live music.
I snapped a photo of this place. I also stood there and remembered people I know as well. It was a meaningful experience.
Image Description: A very small, round orange tomato in my hand.
This year, I grew nothing. Or so I thought.
I stepped outside, and this little orange ball caught my attention. One of the tomato plants that I last minute, oh what the heck, transplanted late into the season gave me a single precious, tiny, orange, unexpected tomato.
Image Description: A drop falls into some water and creates a ripple effect.
That tiny thing you’re great at. . . is a big deal. Really. When shared with others purposefully and resourcefully, it catalyzes change. So what is it?
– Do you have an ability that seems tiny only because it comes so naturally to you?
– Do you engage with it regularly to the point that it doesn’t seem like a real gift?
– Do you forget to marvel at it because it seems so routine or easy?
Well, that’s a gift you need to put into the world. Purposefully.
That’s a gift that seeks greater expression in your community, neighborhood, nation, and world.
These days, when we see the great needs and concerns around us, and when we ponder our fears about needs and concerns to come, we can become absolutely overwhelmed. Our meager work and purposeful sharing can seem. . . well, tiny. It may feel that way, but. . .
That tiny thing? Do not underestimate what it can do.
– When placed strategically with the gifts of others, it can become organized change. It can become organized resistance. What resources can you bring uniquely — money, connections, abilities? Some of which come so naturally to you? Do all you can to make those things fit with the leadership and commitment of others. Look purposefully for where they can be placed alongside the great work that is already happening. Your tiny gift will easily multiply.
That tiny thing? Do not underestimate what it can do.
– When launched into the world with intention, that tiny thing may add a level of care that increases relational safety. Even if only for a moment, it matters. In this current climate, people are reasonably fearful and discouraged. Your tiny thing in a tiny moment may serve as a reminder of human worth and connection. It may provide a needed boost which encourages others to put their gifts into the world too.
Image Description: The title openings for two shows — Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Waltons.
Yes, this is a mashup photo of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Waltons. These two shows may seem like an odd couple, but for the very same reason, both have been on my mind this week.
With all my heart, I love Buffy and the universe Joss Whedon created through it. The show is masterful with the use of symbols and metaphors, and over seven seasons, the character development is immense. On Sunday, I watched the series finale again. I had not seen it in years. Then I circled back to the opening and watched the very first episode too.
I couldn’t help but view the opening scenes as a grand, albeit campy, prelude to where it was all headed. The end illumined the beginning, and I was watching with that end in view.
Later in the week, I was thinking about this once more when a beautiful memory came to mind. The memory is about David, a person beloved and deeply influential in my life. When he was living through a challenging cancer diagnosis, he suddenly became obsessed with the reruns of another show: The Waltons.
We all knew we were not allowed to call David during the 9am hour. That was The Waltons hour. If we did call David, he would scold us playfully. But he was also serious. He would not talk to anyone during that hour, nor would he do anything else. It was all about The Waltons.
This morning ritual went on every weekday for about a year. Then one particular day, he watched the series finale. The final episode reveals the future directions of the main characters. It skips ahead to reveal what their lives will become.
A few weeks later, I said something like, “I’ll give you a call tomorrow.” Then teasing him, I added, “But don’t worry. I won’t call during The Waltons.”
David told me he had finished the series. I assumed he would just start again at the beginning, but instead, he said, “Actually, I’m done with it. You know, I’ve been thinking about this. I needed to learn that everything would turn out alright, and that all those characters would be okay in the end. What I needed to learn most is that all of you will be alright too.”
David was speaking about his diagnosis, knowing that he would eventually leave us. He binge watched The Waltons, and with the end in view, he was comforted. He knew we would love and grieve deeply, but we would also live well.
David wasn’t merely talking about his illness alone, however. He was also talking about purpose. The word end has two meanings. It can mean finality, but it can also mean purpose or goal. Though it would indeed be painful, David needed to know our lives would continue after he was gone. But even more, he needed to know that our lives would continue in the purpose of the love we had shared with him.
I am so glad that we had that conversation. Years later, I know that he was right.
We still know that love. We know love in our bones.
And more and more, I hope to live with that end in view.
This tiny, seemingly insignificant pufferfish astounded me the other day. I have never heard of such a little artist until I watched a BBC Earth video a few days ago.
This little fish creates an artistic structure in the sand – one that’s complex in its detail and mathematical precision. It’s astonishing. We’re left curious, how does this little being have such an ability?
And we feel a sense of wonder.
I think we need a sense of wonder, particularly in times of great stress. We need to be reminded that there is a world worth feeling awe about – a world worth living in, a world worth protecting.
Perhaps there are times when we struggle to access a feeling of wonder. And if so, that’s completely understandable and okay. But thankfully, curiosity and wonder are things we can practice. They aren’t goals or benchmarks. They’re play. We can always engage them.
So what initiates your sense of wonder these days?
Smuggling Grace 