Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Sometimes—especially now—a news story is not the news story. Sometimes what seems significant isn’t. All the time, stuff just happens and making meaning of all that stuff can be exhausting and confusing. (And, must say, New England’s disquieting, alarming, climate-changed weather—for months!—hasn’t helped!)
Just coming out of one of those confusing and exhausting times, I’m moved this morning to lift up three instances, recently, when Spirit broke through the fog:
- Friday night, at our monthly Somerville worship-group gathering, a dear, long-time F/friend offered this query: “What do you yearn for?” Try it. Let me know if simply posing that question to yourself is grounding. Do you find that coming up with An Answer not that important? That it’s the process of asking yourself, opening yourself up to look at, to wonder about your deepest hunger, that matters? (Thank you, Chris.)
- One of the things I yearn for, apparently, is declarative sentences about love. “Because he’s a twelve-year-old boy. Dogs love those.” (Thank you, Wes Anderson.) Bonus: this declarative sentence is voiced by a female.
- Random, anonymous acts of beauty and kindness. Like three packages of Jello, each a different color, artfully arranged on front yard wall. (Thank you, Neighbor, whoever you are.)
Dear Patricia,
Well, hello, there, Patricia, and greetings and salutations to you and to you AND FOR VERY ESPECIALLY FOR YOU FOR ALWAYS, my so, so very awesomely precious and dearly special FOR ALWAYS soul sistahfriend Christian Quaker woman who you’re FOR ALWAYS so, so very much!!!! 🙂 <3 WOW, Patricia, WOW!!!!!! WOW here!!!!!! What an absolutely riveting, beautiful, brilliantly beautiful blog post article here which is so blessedly and joyfully very introspective and contemplative, sistah!!!! WOW!!!!! YOU ARE just very keenly and spiritually attuned with such clarity and discernment as such a good woman of faith, a good woman of such spirit and Spirit, sistahfriend, and deeply, wholly spiritual, my so, so very dearest and darling friend!!!!! 🙂 <3 WOW, I just so love this very engaging and endearing blog post article, my friend Patricia!!!!!! YOU have me just percolating and percolating here, sisterfriend, coming up with some sharp insights and making those connections to spirit and Spirit!!!!!! 🙂 <3 Sistahfriend, how you've moved and touched me in your very beautiful, precious, and special heart, mind, soul, and spirit once again as usual as always as ever, sistah!!!!! 🙂 <3 It is such a joy to behold and very blessedly and joyously to bear witness to here your spiritual longing, yearning, being ready, wanting, willing, and able to reach and connect to spirit and Spirit, and now I'm inspired, encouraged, and emboldened to clasp Spirit in my very heart and spirit and to walk with Spirit with Spirit's Sweet Love and Guidance, sister!!!!!! 🙂 <3 It IS very groudning and important, too, and in perfect accompaniment to that eagerly, delightfully and patiently waiting for Spirit with my spirit for Spirit's Perfect Timing, Patricia. This is very much indeed so my deepest hunger as well, my sisterfriend Christian woman, Patricia!!!!!!! 🙂 <3
I think of how I was raised Catholic but being a Protestant for very many years since my twenties in the 1980s. I've been such a rejoicing and proud member of my special and beloved Faith United Church Of Christ here in my Iowa City, Iowa since the 1990s. I just so, so very much love and cherish my absolutely AWESOME sisterfriends and brotherfriends there!!!!! 🙂 <3 I used to think growing up that I wanted to be an altar girl but the Catholic Church didn't back then and still doesn't allow for that only for boys to be altar boys. I thought that I'd love to be a priest but then as now the Catholic Church doesn't allow for women to be priests. I even remember in seventh grade at Catholic School how a teacher became upset with me and some of the other kids called me weird because I strongly stated that women should be able to be priests as well. I had to stop saying that because I really got into some hot water over that!!!!!! 🙂 I remember so well as a little girl I'd play by myself and pretend that I was a priest celebrating Mass, sisterfriend of mine, Patricia!!!!!! <3 Much of the time growing up I thought that I wanted to become a nun. When some of the kids would pester me in high school about why I wasn't dating boys and didn't have a boyfriend I'd fall back on the "going to become a nun" excuse because I was too afraid to say that I wasn't interested in boys but was a lesbian with how nuns and priests in the Catholic Church have to remain single. Earlier in my life I was so petrified of being gay and I'd go in and out of denial about being a lesbian!!!!!! I so LOVE the Beattitudes in the Gospels!!!!! 🙂 <3 I so want to be pure in heart and to em body all of the very wondrously wonderful and glorious Beattitudes. I'd be so, so very humbled and honored to do so for this is my very hunger, my very yeaning, my very wanting and longing of my very, very heart, mind, soul, and spirit, Patricia!!!!! Growing up I so wanted to become a saint and even in my twenties when I was Lutheran for over five years I still so wanted with all that I have with all of my very being to become and be a saint, Patricia!!!!!!! 🙂 <3 I'd just be so, so very honored and humbled to be like our late, great, fantastic Mother Teresa. In second grade in the 1969-1970 school year I did a book report from a children's book about our late, great, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I knew that I wanted to be like him with all of my very heart and spirit and I even made a promise then and have done so beforehand and after throughout my entire life to reach out in love across the so-called racial divide, very, very especially to so, so very right on, wondrously wonderful white women like YOU, sistah Patricia, and other SUPER white women just so, so very much loving and cherishing YOU, sistahfriend, and other white women with each and every one of you as such absolutely FABULOUS white women being my very, very heart!!!!!! 🙂 <3 I want so to be an ordained minister not necessarily to have my own church but just to be an ordained minister if only my very bad, permanent and chronic physical disabilities weren't so bad with the constantly flaring up all of that as well as the chronic fatigue and very frequent problems walking and standing. If only these conditions would lessen and if I had more energy then I could get, do, and complete my education and training for the ministry and as an ordained minister do the job very actively as a minister, my friend.
WOW, Patricia, what a beautiful, absolutely beautiful and lovely title for this very salient and succinct blog post article which is perfectly fitting and applicable to the very great themes and topics of this awe-inspiring blog post article here!!!! WOW!!!!! WOW here!!!!! WOW, what a fun picture here accompanying this very fine and excellent blog post article which is just picture-perfect here perfectly adding to and complementing this marvelous writing!!!!!! I, too, love the perfect placement of the very yummy, delicious, and delectable jello box and packages and along with you, sistah, thank your Neighbor whoever they are!!!!!! 🙂 <3 Sisterfriend, oh how I so love as you once again as usual as always as ever very graciously and generously feature and include such an interesting, fascinating, and exciting link here!!!! WOW!!!!! WOW here!!!!! Sister, what a fun-filled, fantastic trailer this is here about the grandly great fun times in this amazing movie, Isle Of Dogs, Patricia!!!!!! What a joy and so fun to watch and listen to this awesome trailer and now this is a movie to see for sure, Patricia!!!!!! Sistahfriend, I thank-YOU and Spirit continually FOR YOU and FOR YOUR VERY PRESENCE IN MY VERY LIFE, Patricia!!!!! WOW!!!!! YAY!!!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!!! WOW, YAY for YOU, Patricia!!!!!! WOW!!!!! YAY!!!!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!!!! 🙂 <3 YAY for our very sistahhood and friendship, Patricia!!!!!! WOW!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!!! 🙂 <3 WOW, do I feel even better and brighter with even more greatly added cheer after very blessedly and joyfully reading this very inspirational, uplifting, encouraging, and emboldening blog post article and very joyously and blessedly responding with all of my lovingly heartfelt, sensitively caring, very thorough and detailed thoughts, ideas, and comments!!!!! 🙂 <3 Sister, Spirit so, so very much loves and cherishes YOU, Patricia, AND SO DO I A WHOLE LOT AND A WHOLE BUNCH, TOO!!!!!!!!! 🙂 <3 Patricia, YOU ARE my very life's and eternal blessings and YOU ARE such a joy and a blessing!!!!!!! 🙂 <3
Very Warmly and Sincerely FOR ALWAYS, my awesomely special and dearly precious FOR ALWAYS soul sistahfriend Christian Quaker white woman who you're FOR ALWAYS so, so very much, Patricia, sisterfriend of mine, with my and Spirit's VERY PEACE AND LOVE FOR YOU FOR ALWAYS, sister of mine, AND with SUCH BLESSINGS AND SUCH VERY EVEN MORE BLESSINGS FOR YOU FOR ALWAYS, friend of mine, 🙂 <3
YOURS FOR ALWAYS soul sistahfriend Christian black woman AND FOR ALWAYS in the very great spirit of unity and solidarity, Sherry Gordon in Iowa City, Iowa 🙂 <3