Gratitude

One of my volunteer experiences in my own community is taking confidential crisis calls from fellow community members. I know, from living it and hearing it, how the Holidays can gut-punch a person in psychological ways that one never expects.Whether it's loneliness, grief, an unexplainable emptiness, a sad or happy memory, or some other frighteningly overwhelming feeling that grips a person, it seems to be maginfied by December.

I know many of you are reading this because there's a change you want to see in this world. I also know that you work extremely hard and that you are very human.

I heard James Taylor singing about shedding a little light on a PBS special the other night in a song recalling the spirit of Martin Luther King, and I thought about how much the world needs your light - no matter how much light you have to spare or who you are. Imagine the inner trials of Martin Luther King in his day.

we are bound together
In our desire to see the world become
A place in which our children
Can grow free and strong
We are bound together
By the task that stands before us
And the road that lies ahead
We are bound and we are bound

In Max Ehrmann's Desiderata, he advises, "With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy." To that, I would only add: Be grateful. Life is uncertain and life can be a rocky road (and I'm not talking about ice cream.) But it isn't all bad and sometimes there's a moment you just can't seem to get yourself out of. Try to breathe and let that moment pass. James Taylor sings about finding that passage through the darkness:

There is a passage through the darkness and the mist
And though the body sleeps the heart will never rest.

I thought I'd share this link* with all of you, along with my blessings and gratitude. May you rise above the chaos - outside and inside yourself - and find your own way to enjoy and embrace the Holidays, whether it's giving to your favorite charities, writing a blogpost, plotting the next political campaign or peace march, climbing a mountain, sitting by a fire, or simply holding your loved one's hand on a winter's night.


* Thanks to Michael Pokocky of Sophistica World for first forwarding the link to me.