The Power of Ordinary
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Note: this missive is one day late because I was so out of it yesterday from round two of a shingles vaccine, I completely forgot! Hello friends, The world lost two powerful, compassionate people this past week, Poet Laureate Andrea Gibson and Buddhist teacher Joanna Macy. Both of them found power in the world around us and in the human experience. “If the world is to be healed through human efforts, I am convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for this life is even greater than their fear.” –Joanna Macy Both touched many lives. Each of us has this power within us, if we commit to love rather than succumbing to fear. There is much to be fearful of in this world, but with love on our side? We cannot fail. Oh, things may feel like failure, time and time again, but if we place ourselves in what I call the “long arc” we will find that our efforts to love are not failures at all. Love connects us to each other. Love offers hope. Love—and grit, anger, joy, and determination—keeps us going. Love reminds us to try. “I don’t have a single plan for my life more important than learning to love people well.” – Andrea Gibson Like Joanna Macy, I too, believe that the efforts ordinary people are what will help society heal. Like Andrea Gibson, my most important task is to keep returning to love. We see love in action all around us, if we remember to look for it. Ordinary people feeding one another. Ordinary people standing up against terrorism. Ordinary people organizing to help their communities. Ordinary people joining rescue parties. Ordinary people blocking trucks and surrounding neighbors with their love. Ordinary people making music, baking bread, and sharing moments of life. There is power in our ordinary lives. I hope we claim that, and use it to sow good. Best wishes — Thorn
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, Well, it was another stressful week here in the US and some other parts of the globe. When things feel overwhelming, what is important to me is to connect with what is in my physical environment. I make my bed in the morning. I wipe the kitchen counters. I set things in order. What else do I do? I make sure I go for a walk, even when I have a pile of work to do that feels endless. It is on these walks that, not only do I notice my environment, but I also catch sight of how...
Hello friends, On an old garage somewhere in Southeast Portland, someone hand lettered a large message. The bulk of it reads “Matter would not have become us if it doubted our ability to change…” Now, on one hand it reads as the start of a philosophical discussion I would’ve engaged in during my teens or early twenties. On the other hand, though? Well, it made me pause and snap a photo, didn’t it? Photo: Garage wall message: “Matter would not have become us if it doubted our ability to...
Hello friends, While walking out of an ice cream shop yesterday, I saw a faded scrap of fabric stapled to a utility pole. People had stuck their old wood ice cream spoons into holes in the pole around the fabric, creating a mini art and sculpture installation. I recognized the fabric, of course, as being an old piece from local artist Shanalee Hampton. I have several of her embroidery pieces hanging in our home, having been introduced to her work by outdoor installations just like this one....