You Tell Me

 It cannot be so you say…

Simple hands cannot change the fate of humanity.

I say humanity is a boundless, absorbing heart,

Transcending death, and generations, and centuries,

Absorbing bullets, and stitches, and tear gas,

Enduring humiliation, and illegal abortions, and thankless jobs.

I say to you, the heart of humanity has not and will not be broken.

And let us raise ourselves like lanterns.

With the millions of others,

With the mad, and the forgotten, and the strong of heart,

To shine.

– Jewel

This is one of my favourite poems. I’ve had it stuck on my fridge forever. It brings me hop and joy. Working from my own perspective, and taking my own small hands, with great love, I did the dishes this morning. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the morning light through the kitchen window. The way it hit the glass, the way it moved through the orange in the curtain fabric.

Perspective is everything.

Today was just another seemingly ordinary day. I woke up, took a shower, and ate breakfast. The sink was full of dishes from making dinner the night before. The dog had shook her hair all over the floor as usual – I swear she drops enough to build a whole new dog. But in pulling myself out of the thinking about how much never-ending work cleaning the house is especially sweeping the dog hair, I took a breath and realized, this is really sacred. The life and joy Atti (the dog) brings to the house, to my life… is sacred. Having food to eat and nice dishes to wash, is sacred. It’s July and after solstice the sun is growing stronger.  Green tips are showing up in my garden. The fish in the pond are crazy for food each morning. There is no ordinary day. Every day is extraordinary whether we notice it or not, each day is sacred. The sun is always shining, the sky is always blue, and it’s just that sometimes there are clouds in front of the blue sky.

So for all of us with our boundless, absorbing hearts, I hope that we can all see a way to transcend the clouds  in our lives, in whatever forms they may take. We are never broken, and raise ourselves like lanterns and shine.

Look up at the sky today.