i awaken with a heart wide-open.
i greet each moment of this day with an
incontrovertible 'yes!'

le bon mot du jour: courage

"Courage, you have to have courage to love somebody.
Because you risk everything, everything."

- Maya Angelou

because the shadow needs a light

things are ...
so often not what they seem

many times, this is sad
but just as often ...
a beautiful thing.

how the soul rises above

and so it happens some days when jolted out of a lunchtime reverie [mmmm, shitake and tofu] by the shrieking pain inflicted in that unmistakable burning of an ant bite that the heart can supercede the autonomic tyranny of the cerebellum and amygdala duo and pause to remember how big even the smallest life is

and so still in the grip of those tiny little mandibles allowing the work of her venomous piperidine injector i paused to breathe

[taking in the pain]

and
leaned down
to take a look

as my mind had reasoned there she was conforming to her nature setting little fires all about my ankle


pause


i

gently

placed the
tip
of my finger
distracting her
i guess perhaps
a new threat
but
climb aboard she
did

and

even more gently still
i

placed her on the bench next
to me

and i sat there watching
for awhile it seemed
she was shaky
confused
discombobulated
and
i thought
what is she thinking
is she lost
getting her bearings
how large her world
how random and capriciously
it changes for her

her circumstances
feasting at lunch
[as was i]
now
has brought her
to this new place
where
there is
something grander than the moment
something new to learn

i realized it was quite possible the noontime hot stone bench was harmful to her in some way and again i

gently
lifted her
leaned and delivered her
to the shady comfort of the ground

still shaky
she was
i
tried to imagine
her life

her needs
her physical demands

i

gently
placed

before her a
lake!

those last few drops of water from
my
own
cup

and watching
her
drink

with such joy i
smiled

never, please never.

underestimate

kindness.
the miraculous, transformative power of being present.
putting another first.
smiling.
tenderness.
taking time to breathe. deeply. before speaking.
choosing love over fear.
stepping into someone else's shoes. even for a moment.
remaining open.
putting your actions in-line with your words.
wanting someone else to be fully, wholly authentic and true to her own journey.
faithfully remaining, fully, wholly authentic and true to your own.

where there is real, true love between two individuals,
these are not hard.
not mutually exclusive.

instead.
it's a pause at the edge of the cliff.
taking the time to hold your other's hand
to stand firm, strong,
to lean into one another.
together.

knowing the thoughtless, single mis-step
hazards a heady plunge;
dizzying fall
from the precipice
onto the unforgiving stones
of self

it's true.

The world is far more vast than we often realize we can create.
And then,
we awaken.

xix