love

Power of Intention – ND #3

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More than wishes – Photo: L. Weikel

Power of Intention

I think most of us are at least tangentially familiar with the concept of setting intentions in order to accomplish goals or manifest the reality we want to experience. If you’ve read a bunch of my posts, you know I tend to harp on the importance of setting intentions at particularly auspicious times of the month and year. And if you’re familiar with shamanic journeying, you know it’s important (essential in my opinion) to always have an intention before setting out to visit other realms. The power of intention has the capacity to yield astonishing results in our lives.

The truth of this was dramatically borne out in a movie we watched recently. King Richard is about Richard Williams, the father of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams. Will Smith plays the girls’ father and it’s obvious why he there’s a lot of Oscar buzz around his performance.

Even if you’re not ‘into’ tennis, it’s unlikely you’ve never heard of Venus and Serena. Not only are they each phenomenal in their own right, the fact that they are sisters and they’ve both dominated the sport for years, is downright spectacular.

Having a Plan

Especially when Venus and Serena were just breaking onto the tennis scene, I remember reading or hearing about their father being ‘difficult.’ At least that’s how I remember it being spun. I remember wondering, vaguely, if he was one of those weird ‘stage fathers’ who browbeats their kids and makes life miserable for them all in the pursuit of dominance in the sport.

To be honest, I didn’t really care all that much one way or another. We only watched tennis matches when visiting my sister Jane on the 4th of July. Wimbledon was on the menu every single year, along with lobster and corn on the cob. But watching them play through the years – wow. It was obvious they were incredible athletes. And their behavior off-court was equally impressive. I don’t remember ever seeing them misbehave or act out like the John McEnroes of tennis.

Perhaps because my interest in their story was tangential at best, I had no idea how they came to be who they are. And believe me, their father was the man with the plan – he set the initial intention that created the opportunities his daughters capitalized on through hard work and sheer talent and intuition. (And not an insignificant amount of intention setting on their own part, too.)

Family

What I think I loved most about this movie – beyond the gobsmacking tenacity of the father and talent of the girls – was the way their whole family was so loving and supportive of each other. As trite as these qualities have become through overhyping in the media (often by those who don’t live them), love, respect, and integrity honestly seem to be core values of the Williams family.

And lest you think it was all ‘King Richard’ who made it happen, I beg to differ. No, this was most definitely a collaborative effort of both parents and the three older sisters, too.

It was amazing to watch how perilously close things came – at least a couple of times – to a totally different destiny playing out for the entire family. I have to wonder if at least some of the ‘luck’ was a function of the power of the intention set by Richard Williams himself (and which obviously ‘rubbed off’ on his girls).

King Richard is streaming on HBO Max right now. It looks like it’ll only be available on that venue for another seven or eight days. (I’m not sure how that works or why that’s the case.) If you want to be inspired by greatness and perhaps moved to hone your own power of intention, watch this movie.

(T+3)

Pupdate – ND #1

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 4 Comments
Bigger Helpers (Tonight!) – Photo: L. Weikel

It just feels wrong not to write. At the very least, I must yield to the unspoken but palpable need I feel emanating from many of you for a pupdate.

After all, we shared the loss of Sheila. A year later, we collectively mourned the sudden loss of Spartacus. And then I disclosed the dream in which Spartacus showed up and told me – no, directed me – to get another puppy. I confessed how he placed his paw on my arm, looked into my eyes, and said, “You need me.”

I regaled you with the astonishing (and yet not) synchronicity of our Sarah finding a listing for Boston Terrier puppies and how they’d only become old enough to be adopted the very same day I was awakened by that dream. And then…well, we all know what happened next. Karl and I drove all the way across the state and became smitten with the littlest guy in the litter and his only sister.

No, they don’t always sleep, but… – Photo: L. Weikel

Love Triumphed

I think it’s fair to say you shared our heartbreak. And knowing this, perhaps weirdly, I was a little afraid to disclose welcoming these new additions into our family so soon after losing Spartacus. Although we searched our hearts and contemplated our motives, we – or more accurately I, since I’m the one with the relationship with all of you – worried our somewhat impulsive adoption might seem disloyal to Spartacus and Sheila.

I wondered if I should just keep the arrival of our new babies to ourselves.

But as all of you know, love triumphed. On some level, these puppies – Pacha and Brutus – are our collective healing balm. I trusted the internal nudging I received to write about our newest additions to our family. I decided sharing the joy was worth risking being judged.

They do 4 miles like pros now – Photo: L. Weikel

Simple Pleasures

Goodness knows, we’ve shared an exorbitant amount of collective trauma. The past three years have in many ways been like a roller coaster ride through the inside of a House of Horrors. From the personal to the national to the planetary level we’ve been dodging and catching some major body blows. And we took them as a community. Upon reflection, though, I’d say we shared some pretty cool stuff as well.

The truth is, puppies and kittens, regardless of age, make us smile. They remind us of life’s simple pleasures. If we’re lucky enough to have them in our lives, we know the indescribable feeling of being on the receiving end of unconditional love. (We know which species is usually more adept at conveying it, at least un-self-consciously.) And if we’re unable to have them in our lives at the moment, we can share the love vicariously. It’s a fact.

So here I am. Sharing the love. (And missing you.)

Check these puppies out.

Snuggling – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+1)

He Shows Up – Day 1078

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He Shows Up – Photo: L. Weikel

He Shows Up

It’s hard to describe how much it means to me to have all my kids together at the same time. This weekend was one of those rare treats. Of course, no matter what, there’s always a hole in the fabric of any such gathering because Karl isn’t here. And while it’s not as if we act all maudlin and morose, there’s not a one among us who doesn’t think about him every day – but especially when we’re together. And then, miraculously – inevitably – he shows up.

The weather today lent itself especially to hanging out together and enjoying a fire. The creative juices were flowing and there was some serious pumpkin carving artistry taking place. Puppies reveled in the attention they were receiving from every direction.

Besides our conversations (which, to be honest, mostly centered on Pacha and Brutus), the crackling and popping voice of the fire was the primary sound track of our day.

Brutus & Pacha on a walk 24 Oct 2021 – Photo: L. Weikel

Did You Hear That?

Just as the afternoon was starting to grow some shadows, a couple of us perked up and shushed the others. “Did you hear that?” we asked together. It was the weirdest sound – a chirruping that did not sound familiar at all.

Movement down by the barn caught my eye and Sarah cried out, “It’s a raccoon! Look!”

Sure enough, a raccoon had just slipped into our barn. I barely made out the tip of its tail before it, too, disappeared into the dark innards of the deep red outbuilding. None of us were quick enough on the draw to snap a photo, but we all had to smile. “He had to make an appearance.”

The raccoon continued to make its plaintive cry, though. Only a minute or two later, it poked its head back out the barn door, then hopped out and scurried/waddled around the corner and past the compost pile. Oddly, it didn’t even hesitate at the pile. That usually has treats for all comers of one stripe or another.

Compelled to Follow

The appearance of this lovely, robust raccoon on a perfect fall day when ‘all of us’ are gathered together felt important. Significant.

Yes, we have raccoons that live around here. But it is rare to have them show up during daylight hours, calling a plaintive cry, and clearly on a mission. I felt compelled to follow it and see if I could see what it was doing and where it was headed.

Making sure the puppies were otherwise distracted, I headed out behind the barn. I meandered around the islands of wavy wild grass and the burial mounds of Sheila and Spartacus. I checked out the cherry tree Karl had nearly killed as a young kid.

And then I heard it. What a strange sound. Beyond the Weeping Willows and the eldest Sycamore tree, I heard a sound I can’t even write about phonetically. It was soft at first, and then I caught sight of the raccoon crossing the small creek at the back of our property. It was close – and it stopped and faced me as I realized we were going to encounter each other face-to-face.

It looked right at me and called out its plaintive cry. For the life of me, she sounded like a mommy, calling for her babies. Her coat was thick and beautiful, her eyes bright and her ears perky and aware. Her tail jerked expressively in time with her vocalizations.

Mommies and Babies

This raccoon spoke to me directly twice. It wasn’t afraid; it was demanding. On one level, I do believe it was looking for its babies. On another level it was serving as a messenger to tell me even my baby who’s no longer in a physical body is nevertheless here. Now. Reminding me – no, insisting that I acknowledge: when we need him most, he shows up.

And when I walked back up to the house, marveling at my mystical encounter? After looking at the video and live photos I’d taken (complete with audio), Tiffany gestured toward the pumpkin seed heart she’d found while I was behind the barn.

There are no coincidences. Messages surround us. As much as we miss Karl, I have no doubt he misses us as well and wants us to know: he’s with us in spirit.

Yeah, we love you too – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-33)

Too Many Clouds – Day 1063

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Spartacus Dreaming – Photo: L. Weikel

Too Many Clouds

Alas, I was not beamed up by yesterday’s mothership. Nor did I see any Draconids on our walk tonight. There were too many clouds lingering at the first edge of evening, holdovers from the grumpy, overcast weather of the entire day.

I doubt it would come as a surprise to any of you to learn that Spartacus’s sudden death wrenched our family’s hearts. It threw us for a loop. As weird as it may sound, I think the sudden and unexpected loss of him was a cruel reminder of that same sudden and unexpected loss of Karl.

And yet again, I struggle in my attempts to describe my feelings without being perceived as some kind of hack who is unable to discern between love for a human and love for an ‘animal.’ As if one is higher or more refined than the other.

I struggle because, as I’ve said before, love is love. Love is that unabashed, open-hearted relinquishment of barriers between two beings. It’s a giving of one’s heart. It’s a sense of being seen and heard and cherished no matter what.

Simply one of my favorite photos; Son & Mom, Spartacus & Sheila – Photo: L. Weikel

Imbalance

After Sheila died, a year ago, Karl’s and my walks felt out of balance. For over 12 years we’d taken daily walks, each with a pup of our own on a leash. I’ve often wondered as Spartacus and I walked and walked and walked mostly by ourselves over the last several months whether Karl’s sudden, strange onset of pain, making our walks uncomfortable for him, was at all related to that ‘imbalance.’

Surely it doesn’t seem to make any logical sense that losing one of our cherished pups would impact us physically. And yet, the question lingered. It remains unanswered to this day.

I, for one, only realized after his death how constant a presence in my life Spartacus had become. I’ve always been deeply connected to my four-legged companions, from my very first kitten, Katen, who came into my life when I was six. (He passed away shortly before Karl and I were married.) But especially since the pandemic hit, Spartacus had been literally my constant companion. Even in work, which I now do ‘long distance,’ he was at my side. On the porch, in the house, it didn’t matter. He was with me.

“Arf!” – Photo: L. Weikel

Dream

Several days ago, completely unexpectedly, Spartacus appeared to me in the very early hours of the morning. This is when I often receive my most profound communications from other realms.

That morning, I felt like I opened my eyes and saw Spartacus. He was in my face – I could see his adorable little front teeth. His front paws were on me, on my arm, getting my attention. He kept saying, “Arf! Arf!” very insistently. His big brown eyes looked right into mine.

I thought, what is he telling me? What does he mean when he arfs at me like this?

“What pup? What are you telling me?” I asked.

“Get it,” he replied.

“But…”

“I used to tell you to GET IT when I wanted you to go into the yard and get one of my toys to throw for me.”

“But…”

“Get it. Get a puppy. I don’t want you to wait.”

“What???”

“ARF!” And he grinned at me. Love poured out of him, poured out of his big brown eyes.

All I could feel was love for him and his love for me.

“You need me,” he said. And I woke up.

(T-48)

Feeling Very Loved – Day 1047

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Expressions of Love & Caring – Photo: L.Weikel

Feeling Very Loved

Man oh man, it’s been a week. Wait. What? It’s not over yet, you say? Well, I guess that’s technically true (and not a little scary). All I can say at this moment, though, is that I’m feeling very loved – and I have all of you to thank for that.

When I wrote my post last Sunday night, I was worried. I’d intended to write another anthropomorphized vegetable tale, but obviously that silliness was pre-empted. I may or may not regain the light-hearted silliness required to write about the carrot that arrived from the CSA last weekend.

As most of you know, it doesn’t matter what I may have tucked in the back of my mind as a possible topic on any given evening. Ultimately, I always opt to share my state-of-being in the moment. And I could feel in my bones that, even though he just seemed ‘punk’ throughout the day, Spartacus’s malaise was rapidly degrading into something far more concerning.

Community of Compassion

I want to tell all of you how much your words and gestures of love and compassion have meant to me this week. The first few days of the week were a blur of action and driving and shock. The next few felt like a slow-motion pileup of emotions – as well as that weird unable-to-catch-your-breath feeling of having the wind knocked out of you. That’s the feeling that accompanies sudden, irretrievable loss. It’s like a WOMP right to the solar plexus.

My wish is that none of you ever have to feel it. But of course, I know many of you already have. Whether you have or you haven’t experienced that feeling, reading about it is a gift. Not a gift to you necessarily. But definitely a gift to the writer. It’s a gift that you gut through it long enough to share in the emotions as hard as they may be to read, and then – even more amazingly – take the time to write a comment in response.

Can I tell you how much it meant to me to pull up FB on my phone and just see how many people had reacted? And then the shock of seeing the number of comments? I felt arms around me and a solidarity of shared compassion just in looking at those numbers.

To be honest, I didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to read your sweet and loving comments until yesterday. It was a comfort simply to know you cared enough to write to me. I needed to wait a full day to take the time to scroll through them and then truly take in your love.

We Are Kindred Spirits

The level of compassion and understanding with which so very many of you responded was enlightening. The heartfelt responses I received from you were not a reflection of the quality of my writing. No. They were a reflection of the love that each and every one of you has experienced first-hand. Experienced – and then been forced to release into the ethers. Because that’s the nature of our lives.

The array of responses revealed something else, too: You’re all a bunch of lovers. We love and we let go.

The fact that I’m lucky enough to have so many people (from all over the world, I might add) in my life, sharing this journey, holding each other’s hands when any one of us is hurting, is a treasure. It’s not easy to live our lives with awareness. It’s hard to choose to feel – and not run from the hard stuff.

Thank you for being the kind softies you all revealed yourselves to be. I love being part of our community of compassion. I dare say it’s because we have each other that we pick ourselves up every day and refuse to give in to the darkness that threatens all of us every once in a while.

(T-64)

Unconditional Love – Day 914

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“I love you, Mommy” – Photo: L. Weikel

Unconditional Love

It’s really easy to slip into the habit of taking people, things, and circumstances in our lives for granted. In my experience, it seems that those we’re most likely to take for granted are the ones who love us unconditionally. And when we speak of unconditional love, I wonder just how many of us live it and feel it – either extending it to others or having it extended toward us. Whether giving it or receiving it, I suspect that, for most of us, love with no strings attached is as precious as hen’s teeth.

I’m not waxing on about unconditional love based on some romantic notion. And I guarantee I’m not raising it in commentary on the current escalation of deeply troubling geopolitical circumstances.

No, I’m feeling pretty basic and simplistic this evening. As I mentioned in last night’s post, I’m trying to keep things light. I’m not looking much past my very own nose for subject matter at the moment. It feels like our lives are booby trapped with potentially incendiary topics at every turn.

Where does a person turn for respite in such circumstances?

Tigger – with love in his eyes – Photo: L. Weikel

Creatures

If we’re lucky and seeking a place of solace or a taste of that elusive sense that we’re loved without a single ounce of hesitancy, we need only look into the eyes of our pets. And yes, I’m using the generic word ‘pets’ as opposed to either dog or cat because, quite honestly, I’ve seen such extraordinary love in both species. Cats may be aloof, but they know how to love (even if we might suspect otherwise).

Even Cletus – Photo: L. Weikel

And dogs?

All I can say is, the eyes have it.

I dare anyone to look into that face and tell me Spartacus doesn’t love me unconditionally. And yes, I’ve included photos of our cats as well, photos that capture a connection that feels even greater than a simple ‘heart’ (or, cynically, ‘tummy’) connection: a soul connection. To my mind, that is unconditional love.

I truly believe that our familiars have the capacity to love us unconditionally. And when they do, they model for us the highest expression of loving another. It’s love with no strings. I joke that Spartacus only loves me for the treats I dispense, but in my heart, I know that’s not true. He loves me to my core. He loves me for my core.

It makes me wonder sometimes. How do people survive this often terribly harsh life without sharing their lives with these beings? I swear, sometimes the belief I see in their eyes – the forgiveness, the devotion –  remind me of how I want to look at other people. And maybe even myself sometimes.

Why do so many of us find that so hard?

I love you – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-197)

Unexpected Love – Day 873

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It’s the Little Things – Photo: L. Weikel

Unexpected Love

This hasn’t been the easiest week. There have been worries. ‘Issues’ have arisen – some unexpectedly, some foreseen yet unavoidable. And as always, the challenge is to meet the curveballs with as much grace as you can muster. And in my experience, it’s always easier to muster the grace when a little unexpected love appears in your life.

My emotions have felt like they’re back on the elementary school playground taking a ride on the swings. Remember those swings that would pinch your behind because the seat was made out of a flat piece of black rubber about half an inch thick? And when you sat on it and started pumping your legs, the rubber would sort of squish your legs and rear end together really hard until you couldn’t stand it one moment longer and had to jump off?

Yeah.

I don’t know why, but that’s how I felt this week. Like I wanted to ride high into the sky and feel free but the damn seat was too pinchy and it just wasn’t worth it.

And that’s when a little unexpected love was sent my way.

Ordinary Dinner

While Karl and I got caught up in doing necessary stuff this afternoon, we did manage to get out for a walk before the sun set completely. Yikes, it was cold. But the chill managed to propel us to complete our two mile walk-around in record speed. There was no tarrying on this walk. No impromptu photos of superlative cloud formations. Not much conversation, either.

We decided to have a simple dinner. A ‘big salad’ would fit the bill. As I prepared it, Karl busied himself with other tasks. The animals all gathered under foot; you’d think I hadn’t fed them earlier. Everybody seemed to want something. No creature in our household was satisfied. Emotions were tender.

There was a strange vibe to the air.

As I put the finishing touches on the salad, I peeled a final hard boiled egg.

Lo and behold. A little bit of love. A reminder to stop my mindless internal bitching and embrace the love and appreciation I have for all the blessings in my life.

A little unexpected Egg Love. May some drop into all your baskets this weekend.

(T-238)

Missing Our Girl – Day 829

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Sheila Maloney – Photo: L. Weikel

Missing Our Girl

It’s funny how memory and emotions work. Sometimes it seems there’s no rhyme or reason why a loved one (human or otherwise) suddenly comes to mind and slices open our heart unbidden. When I opened my eyes this morning, lingering in that between space of neither awake nor asleep, I suddenly found myself overcome with missing our girl. Missing my Sheila.

Grief is like that. It’s sneaky and cruel, in a way.

If I scratch the surface, though, I probably only label it as cruel because the intensity of that missing, the sudden, excruciating awareness of that void, can knock the breath out of us – especially when we don’t see it coming. And that’s sort of how it is after they’ve been gone a while.

And so it was this morning as I lay in bed, swimming to the surface of consciousness, remembering who and where and when I am, that I yearned to hold my puppy Sheila again. I remembered with acute clarity laying in bed with her years ago, stroking the white streak that ran down her nose and always reminded me of a feather, telling her what a precious puppy she was.

The Fire Brigade (Tigger, Spartacus, Cletus) – Photo: L. Weikel

Something In the Air

About an hour or two later, I took a photo of Spartacus (her son), who was snoozing in front of the fireplace with two of his (feline) brothers, Cletus and Tigger.

I texted the photo to my youngest son without a word of context.

His response? “Wow, what babies. Miss that pup.”

Then a handful of seconds later: “Oh. Wow. I thought that was Sheila.”

Sheila was his pup. Or I should say, he was her boy.

For whatever reason, her memory, her essence, the loving energy that was our ‘Sheila Monster,’ was visiting both of us today. Pennsylvania, Massachusetts – it didn’t matter where we were. Her playful, protective, and utterly sweet-natured essence enveloped us both in the memory of her love.

Sheila: “MY Boy” – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-282)

Sleep Well – Day 801

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Tigger Sleeping Well – Photo: L. Weikel

Sleep Well

There’s nothing I can say tonight that can do justice to the spectacular nature of today’s events. My heart is full, my unabashed idealism stoked. I’m speechless, but undaunted in my desire to revel in the hope that’s been renewed in my soul. Tonight, at least, this household will sleep well.

There were so many moments. All day. Culminating in the single most amazing fireworks display I’ve ever seen. I only wish I could’ve been there to witness them personally, to feel their reverberations, and to immerse myself in their brilliance.

I can honestly say that in all my 61 years on this planet, I’ve never felt so invested in witnessing inaugural pomp, circumstance, and festivities as I did this year. Right down to the swearing in of the thousand or so people starting new jobs in the administration today who will be carrying forward the day-to-day work of getting the government working for us, the people, once again. I felt my heart flutter when I heard President Biden welcome and celebrate these civil servants and simultaneously let them know they would be summarily fired if found to be disrespecting or denigrating constituents. Accountability. Yes. May it be brought to every level of our government, especially the highest.

Precious Sleeping Well – Photo: L. Weikel

Back to Basics

President Biden brought some simple yet inarguably powerful concepts to the fore today, concepts that if honored can restore us from the ground up: Unity. Truth. Respect. And while he didn’t use the word very often, a sense of LOVE wove its way through every sentence he spoke.

Not the wet-lick-in-the-ear understanding of love we may be tempted to default to when we hear that word. I mean a higher order of love. A love that is founded upon respect, that embraces facts and tells the truth, and a love that cherishes our differences because they are what make us stronger because we each bring to the table something no one else can. Unity in diversity.

E pluribus unum. Out of many, one.

Cletus (Probably Faking It) – Photo: L. Weikel

Top Down

Even beyond all the words (and wow, speaking of words – Amanda Gorman was absolutely brilliant and a testament to the reason why we have no choice but to have faith in and hope for our future), the most striking lesson from everything we witnessed today was just how much power, authority, and influence those who occupy the highest positions carry.

We take our cues from those we choose to lead us. We look to them for confirmation of what we know, deep down, is right and true. If compassion is their watchword, we feel comfortable expressing it toward each other and ourselves. If they tell us the truth, we learn to trust not only them (whether it’s good news or bad) but also our own ability to handle that truth. We realize we’re resilient.

When kindness and grace is displayed by those we hold in highest regard, we emulate it. When we see with our own eyes the power that simple acts of goodness confers, we’re changed. We’re inspired.

Never underestimate the power of a leader who leads by example of both head and heart.

Perhaps we’re ready now to appreciate just that.

One thing I know: we’ll all sleep well tonight with people like President Biden and Vice President Harris leading the way into our future.

Spartacus Zonked – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-310)

Under Pressure – Day 790

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Under Pressure

I’ve been clenching my teeth in my sleep for a lot longer than I want to admit. I even bought a mouth guard and started wearing it at night a few months ago. But honestly? Over the past few weeks, I started noticing that my teeth on one side of my mouth are more sensitive to temperature – and I realized the joints of my jaws were sore. My poor teeth! Clearly, I’ve put them under pressure. (Yes, follow this link.)

The extent of that pressure became sadly and abundantly clear this evening when a piece of one of my molars actually cracked off. Good grief! I took a photo of the piece of my tooth that ‘just couldn’t take it anymore,’ which allowed me to magnify it. Although it’s kind of unpleasant and a bit embarrassing, I’m posting the photo anyway.

I’m posting it because I’m astonished at the cracks I see striating my tooth. It’s sobering to contemplate just how much pressure my jaws were putting on my teeth – some estimate up to 265 pounds per square inch.

It makes me think about our country and the pressure we’re all under right now as well. It feels as though my broken tooth is a metaphor for what we’re witnessing play out in our country as a whole for generations. That’s how long I think the pressure has been building.

I also think if we put our country under a microscope (or even zoomed in on it with our iPhone cameras – which perhaps is what we did with all the ‘selfies’ and videos taken during the insurrection and attempted coup on Wednesday) we would find as many cracks in some of our foundations as in my tooth.

Something Has to Give

It seems to me that something has to give. It’s obvious that the status quo is unsustainable.

I believe in the principles upon which our country was founded. But I think cracks are appearing and pose an imminent threat of breaking us apart if we don’t apply the principles we hold dear uniformly and fairly.

We’re all still reeling from the debacle that unfolded in our Capitol grounds just three days ago. The rampage exposed a lot of cracks.

I want to believe we can still shore up those parts that have cracks. Perhaps make them stronger through relieving the pressure and desperation felt by so many. Maybe we can do that by sharing the foundational concepts (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) more equally. It’s hard not to crack under pressure when you can’t afford food, shelter, or health care – particularly in the midst of a pandemic that you’re told is a hoax – so get back to work – if you even have a job.

It’s even harder to feel free, or heaven forbid, pursue some happiness.

Weight and Hope – 9 January 2021 – Photo: L. Weikel

Heavy and Light

Right now, the future we’re facing looks like the photo above: There’s huge and pretty dark pressure weighing down on all of us right now. But there’s light at the edges. And it’s exquisitely beautiful.

I feel – even if only tangentially and in my own pretty darn privileged way – the pressure and desperation felt by so many in our country. It’s hard for me to find the words to convey how much I want to contribute to shifting our collective reality toward what we all seek in our hearts.

I truly believe that the way we’ll relieve the collective pressure on all of us individually and on us as a country enough to avoid cracking and breaking apart is to realize we’re all in this together. It’s so simple, yet so complex. We need to get back to those founding principles but this time – really and truly have them apply equally to all.

Post-Script

Can’t hurt to take a look at the lyrics to Under Pressure as we contemplate where we are right now. I’ll admit – I never listened to them as closely as I did tonight – when the title to my post appeared before I wrote any other words. And now, as I go to copy and paste the lyrics here (while you’re hopefully listening by clicking on the link, above), I realize it is the 4th anniversary of David Bowie’s death. I just got chills. This very well may be our last chance.

Mm ba ba de
Um bum ba de
Um bu bu bum da de

Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure that brings a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
Um ba ba be
Um ba ba be
De day da
Ee day da that's okay

It's the terror of knowing
What the world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming Let me out
Pray tomorrow gets me higher
Pressure on people people on streets
Day day de mm hm
Da da da ba ba
Okay

Chippin' around kick my brains around the floor
These are the days it never rains but it pours
Ee do ba be
Ee da ba ba ba
Um bo bo
Be lap
People on streets ee da de da de
People on streets ee da de da de da de da

It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow gets me higher higher high
Pressure on people people on streets

Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn
Why, why, why?
Love love love love love
Insanity laughs under pressure we're breaking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance
Why can't we give love that one more chance
Why can't we give love give love give love give love
Give love give love give love give love give love

'Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the (people on streets) edge of the night
And loves (people on streets) dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure

David Bowie and Queen

(T-321)