A poem for interesting times

Art by Lucy Campbell

It’s been a while since I shared one of John Roedel’s poems; this one feels particularly pertinent to the interesting times we’re living right now.


there’s no handbook
for any of this

there are no hard and
fast rules for times
like these


~ you’re doing the best you can

holding things together
while the world falls apart


in this age of fear and fret
you don’t need to be perfect;
you just need to be gentle

~ with yourself and everyone else


because that’s all you
can really control, isn’t it?

yes, things might unravel a
bit more before this is
all done


~ you might come undone as well

and it’s okay if
you do

because


while the world
is resetting
its router

we can take turns
deciding who gets
to cry on the couch


we can take turns becoming
a balm for one another

we can take turns yelling
up into the silent sky

we can take turns
having insomnia


we can take turns being
confessionals for one another

we can take turns brushing
the tears off of each other’s face

we can take turns inviting
the butterflies to swarm us


my love,

don’t worry about getting
all of this right

you won’t


don’t worry about making
mistakes

you will

~ you’re doing the best you can


and
remember

there is only one great commandment for
enduring a year like this one

~ and that commandment is this:

go easy,
my love,
go easy


~ john roedel

🙏💖🙏💖🙏

Can’t find the words

Somehow I can’t find the words to share anything significant, even though I know interesting, inspiring, and significant things happened today.

Hopefully, my ability to communicate will return tomorrow.

Completely & officially back (ready or not)

Tomorrow is the first of two mornings worth of annual presentations by all the Ananda Sangha Outreach ministries. Each department reviews what was accomplished in the previous year and outlines plans/goals for the future.

I’ve known it was coming, but — what with all the recent distractions — hadn’t been able to concentrate enough to wrap my brain around it. Until today, of course.

Why? Because we’re scheduled to do our presentation midway through tomorrow morning, making this one of those “now or never” moments.

So — yay?!? Guess I’m back.

Sandra Boynton, cat chanteuse

Two days of close-to-normal activity levels have left me feeling pretty wiped out. I’ll definitely be taking it easy tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile…since I don’t have much bandwidth, I’m going to share another Sandra Boynton video. I’m loving these so much; I feel like I’ve stumbled onto a real treasure trove!

From the video description:
A world-weary yet passionate cat chanteuse sings from the heart (in French, of course). A soulful cello offers exquisite support. Semi-helpful subtitles are included. Song written, animated, and performed by Sandra Boynton, cello played by Yo-Yo Ma, piano played by Michael Ford. Plus there’s a surprise accordion cameo.

A month late or eleven months early

Whichever way you look at it, this is way too fun not to share right away.

Besides, there’s nothing wrong with extending a bit of Christmas joy into the new year, right?

The bottom line is that I love everything about this so MUCH!

Ready to sing again

We left for Europe in mid-December immediately after our Ananda Village Christmas concert, then spent two weeks with family in Lugano and one week visiting Ananda Assisi.

Add another ten days or so of laying low in order to recover from pneumonia, and it feels like a really long time since I’ve done anything musical!

Which I think is why I’ve been feeling rather out of sorts and kind of rudderless.

But the good news is that I’m singing for Sunday service tomorrow and will hopefully continue on a regular basis going forward.

Wondering why

I’ve been consistently going to bed early ever since returning from Europe. Even while in the hospital.

So why am I all of a sudden getting to bed so late tonight? Especially considering that I’m really tired.

Sometimes I wish I could shake some sense into myself!

Dredging up old memories

Oh my goodness, this meme certainly took me back in time!

It also gave me pause…

For starters, I realized how completely I had forgotten the visceral feeling of “hanging up” on someone.

And secondly, it’s strange to think there’s a whole generation that has no idea what that even means.

This is the kind of thing that can make you feel old if you’re not careful! 😂