Seeking Love
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Hello friends, “The search for love continues even in the face of great odds” the paper stapled to the battered wood of a utility pole read. I paused en route to lunch with an old friend to ponder the message. I am not certain whether the person who made the sign referred to the personal, intimate, partnership type of love, or the love of friends or family, or some other kind of love. But the reason the sign made me pause is that to me, it spoke of hope. Odds seem stacked against us. Rights eroded. Oceans rising. Lakes drained and fires raging. Neighbors being rounded up. Economic precarity only getting worse… the list, as usual, goes on. But against these great odds, there is still love. Love is a strange type of hope. Love is a promise: We are all connected, whether we like it or not, and we always shall be. Every long time activist I’ve encountered continues to work out of love. Love doesn’t mean despair never rears its head. Love doesn’t mean there is not anger or even rage, at times. Love simply means we keep going. The people I know who were inspired only by anger, retaliation, or something else tend to not last more than a season, or at best, a year or two. The same is true for art and creativity. Those of us who are in it for love tend to keep going even in the face of what others might call failure. We love our craft enough to remain curious about where it will take us, and what we will learn. We can apply love to any area of the human condition. We can seek love out, regardless of what hardship is stacked against us. What are your thoughts on love? Best wishes — Thorn
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, There are a wide variety of humans, but today I’m thinking about two basic types. There are the people who take themselves out of the picture. Write themselves out of the story. Slink to the edges of the frame. Others take center stage at all times. They fill the image, crowding out or overshadowing those around them. These people are the stars of the show, and the only Main Characters. But here’s the thing: no matter what our tendencies or training, we would all do well to...
Hello friends, I wrote this week’s newsletter in advance, because I’m camping with no cell service. It’s so good for my psyche to disconnect from electronics, stare at mountains, and walk along streams for a week. I’m a mind-racer, and this disconnection—like meditation or prayer—helps slow me down inside. The meditation on nature is always a gift to me, even in the small city where I live. For example, on the summer solstice, it was cool enough for me to take a long afternoon walk. I headed...
Hello friends, It’s Pride weekend, and I’m thinking of all the brave people who fought so hard to be allowed to simply exist. And I think of those who are still fighting, myself included. Do we want to fight? No. We’d rather just live our lives, do our work, laugh with friends, raise families, read books, and tend our gardens. Just like immigrants and other people under attack do. “The first Pride was a riot,” it is often said, and whether something is called a riot or an uprising depends on...