Saturday darkness

Before the darkness falls.

There are so many unsung heroines and heroes at this broken moment in our collective story, so many courageous persons who, unbeknownst to themselves, are holding together the world by their resolute love or contagious joy. Although I do not know your names, I can feel you out there.

~ David Abram, Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology

After a storm.

Today I find myself contemplating the saying about it being darkest before the dawn, and I wonder… just how dark does it have to get?  I wonder… why aren’t we all out in the streets or camped out in front of the Capitol and the White House and gathered on the Mall in D.C., saying enough is enough?  Enough of the rhetoric that causes so much divisiveness and promotes violence, enough of the periodic thoughts and prayers without action to back it up, enough, enough, enough.

Light on the horizon.

It’s been a dark day, in many ways.  I try to keep things light here at Ye Olde Blogge.  That’s been especially true over the past two years when we seem to need more light, more beauty, more of whatever nature has to offer to relieve stress and worries and whatever is weighing heavy on us.  Oh, I know, it’s also true that I’ve stepped up on my soapbox from time to time, and I will likely do so again until, maybe, we reach a point of Enough.

Standing on the shore, watching the light play on the darkening water.

There is a LIGHT in this world. A healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter. We sometime lose sight of this force when there is suffering, and too much pain. Then suddenly, the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people who hear a call and answer in extraordinary ways.

~Richard Attenborough

Walking to the Point at sunset some October evening.

I’m at a loss for more words of my own.  Whatever I come up with feels trite, even trying to express the emotions of anger and sadness and everything in between.  Maybe that’s because I’ve written some variety of this post, several times, and yet the heartbreak feels new every. single. time.

Walking the future-woods trail after the rain.

Thank you for visiting today.  We need to work on this somehow.  I wish I had suggestions or solutions.  I don’t.  I do know we can’t keep hiding from it and pretending everything is going to be okay.  I like to think we are better than this.  I hope that’s true.  I like to think we can learn to talk to each other again, find common ground.  I hope that’s true, too.

If you’re in the U.S.:  Vote.  No excuses.  Just do it.  Vote as if your life and the lives of others depends on it.  Because I really think that might be true.

Light shining through a sweet gum leaf.

Exposure to human stories reminds us that we’re all human. I mean real exposure. Listening, hearing. Not point from across the room. Engaging. And most of us are just trying to make it day by day without hurting anyone else.

~ Jedidiah Jenkins, To Shake the Sleeping Self 

Where are we going?

A few of the 10,000 reasons to be happy (because even on days like today, it’s good to find a few things to be grateful for):  901)  A glimpse of sun at sunset.  902)  Homemade pizza for dinner.  903)  Watching the fish swim on the woodland trail.  (Coastal flooding today.)  904)  Friends who ask the right questions.  Or even the wrong questions.  Because they’re friends, so all questions are good.  905)  Izzy the Cat playing like a kitten this morning.  Crazy kitty forgot how old she is.  I could use a dose of that from time to time.

The zinnia’s have had a long growing season this year.

The Walktober reminders:  This year’s dates are October 14th through the 28th.  I hope you’ll find the time to walk and participate.  (If you need more time, all you have to do is let me know.  If you’re unfamiliar with Walktober, you’ll find a link to a post about it in the sidebar, over there to the right.  Or, if you’re using your phone, maybe it’s at the bottom somewhere.)  I will probably do the round-up of the posts/walks on November 1.  That date depends on whether or not anyone needs and asks for more time.

The Official Walktober Post, the one that you should link to for pingbacks (or you can leave a link in the comments), is this one:  A Monday meander: The Walktober Post.  No worries if you leave your link on one of my other posts.  I’ll be on the lookout for them.

Getting grounded.

It’s in that convergence of spiritual people becoming active and active people becoming spiritual that the hope of humanity now rests.

~ Van Jones