The stock photo above represents the vision I have for my butterfly bush — big blossoms covered with beautiful butterflies!
In reality my bush has been slow to flower and I haven’t seen much in the way of butterflies (as in none, although bumblebees are regular visitors to other flowers in my container garden).
So, I was thrilled the other morning to notice a butterfly on my butterfly bush!
Until I realized that the reason I could get so close without it flying away is that the butterfly had been captured by a spider and was already a goner.
I was out for my morning walk, glanced up at this tree, and came to an abrupt stop.
After all, it’s the height of summer, with temperatures once again approaching triple digits. And yet, there it was — a reminder that summer really doesn’t last forever.
And neither does anything else on this physical plane.
I did a quick share of this on Facebook this morning, but seeing as how it remained in my mind and on my heart throughout the day, I realized I had more to say about it.
First of all, I’ve been loving the poems of John Roedel since I discovered him during the pandemic. His words have touched me deeply over the years, and today’s poem was no different.
I’ve been reflecting on how this poem has a very “both/and” perspective — something that is so lacking in the world right now. The ability to acknowledge how things are, but at the same time, refusing to let the craziness overwhelm us or cast us down into despair. It’s definitely a delicate balancing act.
Anyway, the more I think about it, the more it seems to me that — in times like these — being kind and gentle, and going easy on ourselves and others, is a powerful and radical act.
Enjoy the poem.
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 it’s 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
In all fairness, the week leading up to today was filled with lots of “doing.” In addition to the usual rehearsals and emails and meetings, we had a music team retreat, plus another day of recording. So I was understandably tired today.
In fact, once I got home from Sunday service, I was DONE. As in kaput, fried, and just plain exhausted. With no desire to do anything, even though I had created a longish list of tasks that I (rather foolishly) thought I would tackle this afternoon — HA!
So, now you can see why this meme spoke to me today.
We accomplished a lot in this afternoon’s music retreat, but a particularly powerful moment for me was answering the following question:
“In your heart of hearts, what do you want most to accomplish in the music or the Arts before you leave the planet?”
This was my answer:
” To help establish a really deep, really strong, absolutely clear and attuned core music leadership that will protect and carry forward Swami’s musical legacy far into the future, which will assure the future of Ananda as well.”
Beyond that, I’m just so grateful… to be part of such a dynamic team; for the blessing of our music; and for the meaning and purpose it gives to my life.
