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Hello friends, Change can feel hard. Sometimes change is accompanied by a deep sense of loss. Or we have foreboding, and fear what may come. That’s okay. Natural. Wise, even. Other times, the thought of change feels like a breath of fresh air. A necessary break from what has been. But the reality is? Like it or not, fear it or welcome it, change will always come. As Heraclitus said, millennia ago: “You can’t step in the same river twice.” The river flows. It is always, ever, changing. The seasons change. Our bodies change. Our thinking, hopefully, changes, growing to embrace new information. Climate changes, sometimes because of ordinary time bound occurrences, and other times because of human intervention. Society? Well, some change is accelerated to dizzying speed, while other facets seem to be on endless repeat. What helps with change that feels unsettling, worrisome, or wrong? Our inner states. We can adjust our responses. Rather than being buffeted about by every stray emotion, we can cultivate a steadiness inside. And from that steadiness, we can act. Why am I thinking of all of that this week? Well, there’s the world around us, but mostly, it is because of some fallen tips of a Glorybower bush. The fading fuchsia colored stems and petals lay in stark contrast to the damp grey sidewalk. And at the center of each five pointed pink star, shone round fat jewels in shades of blue and pale gold. Even fallen, even fading, the Glorybower tips were beautiful. Does change worry me? Of course. Despite courting liminal spaces, I actually dislike transitions. And daily, I wish the world we’d built together was a kinder, more sheltering place. But I don’t fear what is to come. Deep inside me, I trust that I—and you—will do our best. Will we make mistakes? Of course. We always do. But still, we can find ways to remind each other of the beauty in ourselves and in this world. Best wishes - Thorn Want a pleasant break from your troubles? I'm part of a cozy ebook bundle! Pay anything from $5-20 (or up) for four to ten books.
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Hello friends, Believe it or not—and despite the first paragraph—below are more thoughts about hope… As one Gregorian calendar year draws to a close, many of us are gazing into a highly volatile, uncertain future. The US economy seems to teeter on a precipice. With scant oversight and terrified or deported workers, our food supply is both compromised and costly. Environmental regulations are gutted. Families are rent apart. Too many people live in fear of what the next day will offer. This...
Hello friends, “Light is returning, even though this is the darkest hour. No one can hold back the dawn…” – Charlie Murphy & Jami Sieber It’s Solstice weekend as I write this. It is cold outside. There’s flooding not far from here. There are families afraid to go to work or school. There are people hoarding power and wealth who care only for themselves. There are mass shootings. War. There are people fueled by cruelty, hatred, and fear. These are dark times, indeed. These are also times of...
Hello friends, The thing about life is…. It’s a tangle. A tangle of beauty and heartache and love and joy. A tangle of rest and ambition. A tangle of science and wonder. A tangle of trees and insects, flowers and mammals. A tangle of humanity and a tangle of stars. Another word for this tangling is interdependence. Every time I see it mentioned that someone is “self made” I wince. Not one of us is “self made.” We are all dependent on so many networks that we would not survive without. We rely...