Category: Love

Love The One Your With

Amid the anger of those who ignore the reality before us there is also a grieving for all that is being lost. Conjecture on when life will “come back to normal” only salts the wound and confuses the issues at hand. 

Reality looms before us: a dysfunctional government, an educational system in jeopardy long before the pandemic, and a clash of fundamental human beliefs will all soon diminish by the onslaught of winter and an increase in homelessness, hunger and sickness, which we will surely face. 

Many are paralyzed by fear. Some insist on acting out of anger. Yet others are engaged in finding and creating new possibilities.  It’s as if we are being given a chance to do over much of what we have had horribly wrong. 

Our resiliency is being tested. And as far as I can tell there is only one solution: love.

Fear and anger cannot dwell in a heart of love. And love is a practice. I can let the caterpillar be killed as it meanders across the busy road, or I can give it a lift to the other side. Not because I should, but because I love. 

When the young man comes to talk to me about being saved, I can tell him it’s not my cup of tea but I can love him for his effort and I can tell him so. I can love beyond my boundaries. I can witness a human being through my righteousness. 

When another friend laments that good is being overpowered, I can hear him, but I can assert my truth that as long as we care, as long as we love, we cannot be defeated.

Love is a powerful asset that does not need understanding to be felt.

It’s time we use it.

Something’s Happening

There’s something much greater happening right now than an election, and no, it is not the selection of a Supreme Court Justice, and no, it is not the ongoing crisis of a pandemic that never had to be this out of control…

There is something much greater, and much more immediate that’s happening. The intense polarizations are leaving us with a choice. Will we continue to participate in the downward spiral of separation and hatred or will we reclaim our connectedness and our humanity?

The choice is always there. 

I found a young rooster who had been beaten up by the others of his flock. His jaw is broken and it appears that his spine is broken as well, but still he stood and wobbled as he walked. I gave him some water and put food into his broken beak. He responded in a positive way and we have worked out systems that keep him safe and well fed. I bathe him with dust and he grooms himself with it. I am amazed at how much I love him and how my love has grown. His desire to live is a great teacher to me. And I will assist him as long as he needs. 

Our hearts have the capacity to love deeply and without restriction. And love itself is the reward.

That is the choice before us. We can maintain foolish divides or we can allow ourselves to love and to heal.

The status quo is full of contradictions and hypocrisy. The beliefs that we have inherited have made us very sick. But the remedy has always been at hand. Love. Love foolishly, love graciously. And appreciate the fact that you can love. It is a gift. 

Love is our greatest ally and our greatest weapon.

Love lavishly. 

Take a Breath

The unrest continues in response to the police brutality used in the attempted homicide of Jacob Blake. White vigilantes fan the flames of racism on the streets of Kenosha. Too many on social media are applauding the seventeen year old who killed two protestors and far too many are defending the police who held a man by the shirt and shot seven bullets directly into his back.

And then there are the white commentaries bashing protestors for destroying property while omitting to comment on systemic and brutal racism.

Take a breath people. Jacob Blake’s mother asked that of us and I think it is a good starting point.  And once you catch your breath, I think we should defect. To defect: to leave, without consent or permission, allegiances that we have espoused or participated in.

In this moment when insanity is breaking loose; we need to defect from our allegiance to inhumanity. We need to defect from the thinking that tells us there are many races and we need to embrace the single race of being human. We need to defect from the position that might is right and restorative justice is impossible. And most of all we need to stop judging one another and listen.

Over the years I have taken time to be with people different than myself. I have an Indigenous Grandmother, a Black Daughter, Sovereign Sisters and a Muslim Brother, not by blood or marraige, but by choice. And I choose to listen.

Our stories are different. Our hearts are the same.

So I’m defecting from ignorance and hate and I suggest you do the same. Peace is possible. Love is real and as we move towards that understanding, the world will change.

It’s up to us. It’s always been.

 

photo: wikimedia

No Ordinary Love

We have a need. It may not be as obvious as our need for air, water, food and shelter, but it is there. Some call it peace, but it was there before the word “peace”. It’s a feeling and I’m quite certain it’s in everyone.

These days of unrest, of turmoil and uncertainty can suck life from us drop by drop. The image of the vampire was born of this. Horror stories of the living dead are meant to scare us. But to what end? Our efforts and our desires drive us to stay alive. We want to live. Yet the challenge before us is not to merely survive; our challenge is to flourish. And that can seem illusive and insurmountable as the walls come tumbling down.

Battle lines are being drawn on nearly every front. We are fractured and divided over the most ridiculous things. It’s weary making, if you let it.

Or we can follow our need. There is a place within us that is the eye of the storm and where we can find strength and solace.  Love can take you there, but it’s not superficial love. It is the kind of Love that wells up inside when you least expect it. It is the kind of Love that calls for our attention and our care. The manifestations of this Love are kindness and compassion and with all the things that are demanding our focus right now, let us not forsake this Love.

The world is asking us to take sides. And we will take sides. But as we do, we cannot ignore the cry of our heart. We cannot walk into the battle without our armor. Take time to know the Love that holds you. It is no ordinary Love.

 

Tremendous thanks to Prem Rawat for helping me tap into the Love. You can find more at Timeless Today.

The photo is a poem of Hafiz

It Can Be Done

I came upon our ducks in frenzy. I stopped to watch as one bolted from the crowd carrying something in her mouth. It was a full-grown frog and not one that she was willing to share.  I watched as she continued to elude the others while attempting to consume the now dead frog. The other ducks gave up the chase as I watched in disbelief. It was all so unexpected. Never had I thought of a duck killing and eating a full-grown frog.

Nature has surprises. Although by now there shouldn’t be. I couldn’t judge her; she was following deep seeded instincts of survival. I could feel for the frog, but the reality is the frog has its own instincts to follow.

And then I began to consider the instincts that drive us. There are many who equate the ruthlessness they observe in Nature with the ruthlessness of human beings. It is used to justify the worst of our behaviors and it is also used to justify the corporal punishments we dole as retribution. It is used to justify war, genocide and all forms of inequality. We have become adept at declaring and resigning ourselves to humanity at its worst. It is the excuse we allow.

I have come to resent that excuse. I no longer believe we must accept and follow the base instincts of life. But it does mean we must consciously choose which instincts we will follow. We must survey the terrain of our being and choose which seeds must be cared for and which seeds should be left alone.

Choosing understanding over hatred, compassion over anger, and kindness over greed can be done.

It takes practice. It takes determination. It takes courage, but it can be done.

Yes, violence begets violence, but love certainly creates love

 

“Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love. ” Martin Luther King (1958)

 

It’s Good to Cry

 

Sometimes these days I am overwhelmed by a news story, a radio sound bite or a friend’s hardship and the tears begin to rain. Thinking about this need to cry, I am reminded of an old friend who once watched me tear up. In shame I tried to cover it and she said to me, “Don’t hide those tears. They’re precious. Not everyone can cry. I wish I could.”

Or the time my Navajo mentor explained to me that sometimes “hearts have something hard inside” and we have to allow the hard place to become soft again.

So now as I learn of impending famines, countries overwhelmed, the horrific death caused by the virus, or the need of relief for our health care workers, the tears come. I don’t try to hide them. I don’t try to stop them. They are part of my heart softening. They’re part of my prayer. A prayer without words; a prayer that beckons for all that is good and right to prevail.

There is a part of us that wants to cut to the chase. It wants the political posturing to take a back seat. It wants the allure of acquiring capital to not come at the expense of the living. It wants to stop hearing, “when we get back to normal”. And it is grateful when someone acknowledges that we can create the world we know is possible, not simply default to old and decaying ways.

We have before us a great challenge and it is not in discovering a vaccine. It is to allow our humanity to replace our greed. It is to demand more from one another so the Earth can continue to heal and feed her children.

Our tears are the forebears of action that will make it right once more.

 

photo by Noho

You can listen to this on Soundcloud.

Thanks to WDRT for airing these two minute commentaries every Thursday at 5:30 pm CST.

Tend to Life

Boredom is something I whole-heartedly avoid. Luckily life keeps welcoming my attention and is willing to teach. These days the sand hill cranes are echoing through the valley as they prepare their nests and stake out their terrain. And the young trees that we planted years ago have survived the deer and our neglect as we tend to them with manure and straw and new fencing.

There are even a few stubborn chestnuts and hickory saplings still standing strong. They were planted with the knowledge that we may never see their fruit, as it may be as long as forty years before the nuts are harvested. Yet with care and love, they will certainly grace some future passer-by with a tasty bite. And that is good enough.

My mother would often use the western Pennsylvania saying, “Give it a lick and a promise.” It meant when you start something, give it your best and if you cannot complete the task make your promise to return. Well this moment of “stay in place” is revealing a lot of unfulfilled promises that need my attention. And I am grateful to be able to oblige.

Today we unearthed the tiny strawberry plants and covered them for protection. We removed bits of wood that will stand in the way of enlarging our garden and all the while kept feeding the mule tuffs of last year’s grass to make him happy.

Plants and animals are thriving. We all flourish with a little bit of love and care. This tending to life is amazingly rewarding and yields the greatest gains.

Self –care has taken on a whole new meaning.  Taking time to find courage and strength to persevere and to feel love and compassion is imperative.

This moment of hardship and struggle offers possibilities that we have not yet dreamed. We cannot know what the future holds for our families, our communities or our world, but we can tend to life. Therein lies richness.

Be well.

Right on Time

 

Here come the first hints of spring right on time. I heard a robin sing yesterday and today the call of the sand hill crane caught my attention. The snow is melting and the mud and the ice are treacherous if you take a wrong step, but the brilliant sun makes the cold wind cower and you know it is only a matter of time before you will walk barefoot again.

And there is hope, right on time.

The news in any given day is bleak and I am inclined to believe it is intentionally so. It is easier to control a population when it is kept on edge. It is easier to drive an agenda if you do not give people a chance to find their own way. But at the end of the day, it will always be our choice to fall for fear mongering and hate baiting or to strive to create sustainable peace.

Winter in the Driftless is not for those afraid of a good challenge. But it is the beauty of the season and the brilliance of the night skies that soothes the soul and holds the promise of spring.

I couldn’t live in a hopeless world. And the return of the sand hill crane reminds me of that. I muse over the latest news on the coronavirus, or the hatred that has reared its head against Muslims in Delhi. Yet I rejoice to hear the Korean woman tell how she survived the disease and how the Hindu man saved many Muslim neighbors making trips by motorcycle.

You see, spring returns. And with it hope. Not blind hope, but hope born of reason, conviction and action laced with integrity.  We are born for this. We are born to be victors over fear, hatred and ignorance, because we are born for love.

 

sandhill crane in flight courtesy of wikipedia commons

Hone Love

As winter solstice draws near, the shadows grow longer, the light burns brighter, and the air is crisp. It’s a contemplative time, a time to reflect on the past and to gather strength to prepare for the spring. If we have done our work through the seasons, we’re able to enjoy this time and celebrate with deep appreciation.

If this season catches us unprepared, we run the risk of missing its quiet beauty. Winter for all its harshness is a time to go within. It is also a time to share.

Everyday is worthy of celebration and giving thanks. Yet living close to the land awakens an appreciation of the return of light. It is something we share with our predecessors and with people throughout the world. We receive the longer days with this recognition: That even though the harshest times may still be before us, we will have the increased vision and strength to see it through.

There are many who will not be able to feel the subtle changes of the season. There are some who do not care. For whatever reason, we have handed the reigns of power to people who have forgotten they are of the earth. They cannot feel the magic or the majesty of living. They are content to destroy it all for material gain.

Yet the lovers of the earth will continue to love.

I am learning to not curse the cold, nor surrender to the darkness. There is something that softens my heart and feeds my soul. It’s simple and it’s absolute.

I am alive. In these complex and challenging times we are alive.

And there is so very much hope in that. Celebrate the light and hone the gift of love.

It is the only thing ignorance cannot destroy. Hone love and fight like hell.

Prayers That Never Falter

I recently learned of the passing of a great man.

In mid-2016, I was drawn to the Oceti Sakowin Camp at Standing Rock. I visited to see if I could help keep the oil pipeline from crossing the headwaters and the tribal lands.

When I returned in September, it was with the conviction to remain. I had no tribe and no affiliation and looked for an opportunity to make a formal request to stay.

Each day began with prayers around the fire.  From my bed in the car, I could hear his voice over the loud speaker as the light barely cracked the darkness. “Kiktapo! Get up. We have work to do. We must stop the black snake.” And there he would be welcoming all to the fire. People came from all corners of the world and all faiths and he welcomed them to offer their prayers.

And when I would attend the day’s orientation, he would be there again leading with prayer, holding the vision, teaching us about courage and strength through example.

He was the one I asked to stay in the camp. I made my offer to help and he welcomed me. And when I asked where to place my tent, he told me, “Here, next to my family.”

The next several weeks were life changing as weather, rubber bullets, water cannons and infiltrators cut into us.  But the prayers never faltered.

Guy Dullknife   was a cherished father, husband, artist, veteran and member of the American Indian Movement, but those are not my stories to tell.

For me, he was a link to my deepest wishes for humankind. That one-day we will rise, all people, with acceptance and respect, and take back the earth, which is our right. As the living, it is our right and our duty.

Thank you Guy, for prayers that never falter. We carry on.

Guy and Angie