Away…Towards…With…

I’ve found it difficult lately, to put my experiences down in words… So many ideas run through my mind and heart… but putting them in print often feels futile against all the suffering, hatred, rage, and fear that has perpetrated our dear earth.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 642EA9BC-7DA3-4F57-A711-E617808FE108_1_105_c.jpeg

What even, can begin to be offered to soothe the pain so many are suffering?  I know when I read something that inspires me, I am strengthened for the moment. Still, unless I’m consuming large doses of this optimism and practically turning a deaf ear to the ‘ugly,’ … then serenity is getting harder and harder to sustain.

I went for a quick walk today, on a local memory trail, wisely placed in the middle of the village near our home. 1.18 miles in 21:54 minutes. That was all it took. Nature always has a way of drawing me back; redirecting me to my center…even in the middle of the village.

Leaves ~ as varied as the cares of the world, blanketed the path. Their vibrance, enhanced by the morning sun which had melted the evening snow covering, deepened their colors as if they were shouting out to be noticed. Just like so many are shouting out in need.

I had to gather them… their diversity could not go unnoticed.

Just like the needs of the earth. Here was the lesson from them for me today.

In every need, no matter how ugly, how hard, how despairing… there is a rich goodness connected to it.

It is my choice whether or not I am willing to take the time and energy to find that goodness.

Honestly, sometimes it is too much.  Too much pain… too frustrating… too close to carry. In those times, it is for someone else to pick up.

And when I can, I shall.

The gift within the pain, underneath the betrayal, behind the bravado or hatred…it has to be thereSometimes, we just need to walk …away… towards… with… to find it.