earth

Last Sunday night I did a simple ritual in anticipation of the new moon. I wanted something to focus on and live into for the month, something to see the full moon. I sat with my flickery little candle and asked for a word. One word through which to focus.

But my mind is cluttered noisy place... a blizzard of words blew through.

earth

ground

in real life

my body, money, family, job, to-do list, punctuality

listen

humility

forgive

repent

turn

real change, James, homeless folks, hungry folks

I escape up into my mind, out of real life, out of pain, poverty, inequality, injustice, have-nots

service & justice

what will I do?

"Earth" is the word that all the others root into, and it echoes a commitment I made to myself last Fall to focus on the physical world and let the intangible take care of itself for a little while. "Earth" challenges me to remain present in my pain & discomfort; it challenges me to remain with others & their pain. It challenges me to heed and then to respond in real tangible life to people, issues, facts beyond my immediate sphere.

Monday morning I woke up feeling sick and it got worse before it got better. That will get your attention onto the physical reality... But it can also be an incentive to escape out of a broken body. I chose to stay with it & listen. Dress comfy. Live on soup. Pile on the quilts. And I accepted it as a reminder & nudge: go back to those (friends & strangers) in pain & listen, let them know you are near; share something tangible (cash & company both count) with the neighborhood homeless man; seek new information beyond the media-hype in my face and...

I'm afraid. I don't know what to do. I don't know what will be asked of me. I so want to choose something immediate to me to occupy myself, to be my alibi, my excuse.

turn

repent

forgive

amend

humility

simplicity

listen

ground

earth