Let us grieve together…

Dear Friends,

I was all set to write a Glimmer about “change” this month…

and then I read the news

I was preparing to pray about the changes around me..noisy construction down the street, the insistence of fall’s arrival, the rhythm of family life…

and then I saw the video

Maybe on another day I can write about the changing season and its lessons for me, but not today. Today, I stand before the truth of tragedy after tragedy, grieve for so many, and carry their pain in my prayer. Our collective grief, like change, asks me to adapt to reality. Our collective grief leads us all into an experience of Loss – where our own stories return to mind, where horrific images break our hearts, where we go numb in response to it all.

I tried to go on with my life, yesterday – attended a meeting, did my work out, sat at the computer – just behaving like it’s any other day.  It didn’t work. Impatience and irritability popped up and reminded me to pay attention. The losses in Las Vegas and Puerto Rico cannot be ignored. The images of Florida and Houston’s devastation are of my brothers and sisters on this planet, as are the pictures from around the world.

I seek to live a conscious, prayerful  life. I seek to open my heart to each moment, to make space for something greater than myself, to listen for Love. I feel so inadequate in the face of such pain, yet here is where Love is needed most of all. I’m going to church today – my faith tradition leads me to a place of surrender. I will open my hands and ask the God of my understanding to hold all of those hurting people. Please join me – at your church or temple, in your hearts and bodies, at the edge of the sea or along a wooded path – wherever you are in touch with Mystery. Join me, friends, as we hold onto Love on behalf of our sisters and brothers, on behalf of our own aching hearts.

peace be with you,

Lisa