This past weekend had me thinking quite a bit about love, loss and true beauty. I was wrapping Christmas gifts for friends and family, getting ready to ship them all around the country and as I was looking for more ribbon I found the “Holiday” letter that I wrote in December of 2019. I reread it and thought, wow. Here is what I wrote in the closing paragraph:
“We saw the new Mister Rogers movie over Thanksgiving and were grateful to be reminded about the practice he had of asking people to pause for a few seconds to think about those in our lives who have loved us into being and to give thanks for them. In closing this letter and pondering what is to come in 2020, this practice does not just feel important for our individual wellbeing, but it seems essential for our collective human need to connect, if even to shorten the spiritual distance between those who have helped to form us, our families of origin, our chosen families, friends, teachers, guides, strangers who have modeled kindness, humility, joy and so much more. Perhaps in taking the time for that kind of connection, one that supersedes what our ubiquitous screens could ever do we can find ourselves more grounded, more at peace and more able to do the work we need to do to bring healing to ourselves and this beautiful but aching world.” Just wow.
As we come near to closing out 2021 I am struck that we have lost so much. Many of us have even lost those who have loved us into being. We have lost dear ones, we have lost our bearings, we have even at times felt as though we were losing hope in what tomorrow will even look like. Yes, we have been confronting way too much hurt, but we have also been creating new openings for love, for acceptance, even for joy. The last two years, although spiritually, physically and emotionally draining have also been fertile years. We do not know exactly what they will yield but we do know that even though one type of familiar world has ended, another, perhaps more bravely honest one is to come. Personally, I have become increasingly more aware of the presence of love all around. It has become easier to even name it, to say it to others and really mean it. Why? Because our filters are gone. What matters most to us has been revealed and it is not fancy, it is not going to attract much attention, but it is going to give us some traction in the midst of this stormy time. Loving words, kind gestures, silly joyful acknowledgements of our human condition, all these things will steady us and keep us hopeful and moving toward tomorrow.
And now we come to the notion of true beauty and one needs only to be introduced to the incredible work of James Ian and simply receive the gift of “Spaces”. This gorgeous song written by James Ian in collaboration with the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) community of which he is a part will kiss your heart and give you a glimpse into what is possible if we really allow ourselves to fully see each other beyond what makes us different. We witness true beauty, we witness generous love, we witness actual hope for our world and for each other. Enjoy “Spaces.”