How about a little simple wondrous hyacinth
Monday morning cup of thoughts
When the same message comes to me from different unrelated sources, I don’t consider it a coincidence. Instead, I consider it a gift from the Universe and marvel at its contents.
This week, I heard about Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, “Braiding Sweetgrass,” from two different sources: my friend Tracey in her Sunday Agape Love Message and
, who writes Human Stuff.Lisa offered this quote from the book:
“Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.” ―Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
Lisa followed Robin’s quote with her own extremely comforting thoughts.
Tomorrow is the inauguration here in the U.S., and instead of sinking into despair, I am opening to joy resting next to it. I am practicing finding all the people who are acting beyond it. I am remembering I get to keep practicing a love ethic, even when it requires my own self-forgiveness time and time again, because “domination cannot exist in any social situation where a love ethic prevails.” I am recognizing all the parts of me that keep me from staying open and turning toward them with compassion, with understanding, knowing this helps me do the same with others. I am tending to my own work in the world, to extending care and kindness wherever possible, to grandmother trees and dancing with my daughter and noticing the first purple hyacinths popping up in my backyard, feeling the tenderness of seeing their beauty return again, even now. I am practicing staying close to the belief that beauty can return again, even now.
I can imagine the scent of those hyacinths now, and I look forward to their arrival this spring, followed by the arrival of my granddaughter this summer. “Braiding Sweetgrass” is already in my Amazon cart.
Take good care of yourself and those around you this week. No matter our political beliefs, we all need a little TLC at this time.
I think you will love that book. It is such a generous view of the world.
I read this today and thought it was appropriate to post here. Martin Luther King Jr. said many things about love, including that it's the most powerful force in the universe, and that it's the only way to solve humanity's problems.