Every morning I begin my day with a cup of coffee, my glasses, my journal, and a pen. Whenever possible, I sit on my deck— even when, as it has been this past week, so cold I need to bundle up under a quilt. (I’ll come inside when the temperature gets below 50 degrees.) Every morning, in the peace of my tiny backyard, accompanied by birdsong and tag-playing squirrels, I make meaning of the day before.
I italicize make meaning to give those words the power they deserve because, yes, over the years, through this daily practice of reflection and prayer I have often found my way. (Or, at least, shined a flashlight in the direction of where I am being asked to go.) But what I am moved to write about this morning is this: given the unfathomable breadth of disaster and pain and horror of this past week, perhaps I should have written “make meaning.” Because how the hell do you “make meaning” of multiple, never-like-this-in-our-lifetime hurricanes and multiple, wide-spreading wildfires and millions of people displaced from their homes, both here and throughout the world, and the obscene cruelty of DACA being repealed and. . .
You don’t. We don’t. I don’t. This is what has come to me. (That realization feels like grace.) It is hubris to expect any human being to take in all of it. We were not made to hold all of it. We can’t. It’s uncontainable.
I surrender to the Uncontainable. Which doesn’t mean, I quickly add, to accept or to dismiss or to minimize or to deny—or to cease asking “What am I asked to do in this broken world?” It merely means I cease believing I can make meaning of today’s headlines. It means I bow my head. it means I recognize that I when I recall Brother West’s “I don’t know what will happen but I do know that If this is The End we will go down swinging,” (something like that) I silently add together.
Dear Patricia,
Well, hello, there, Patricia, and greetings and salutations to you and to you and for very especially FOR YOU For Always, my awesomely precious and dearly special soul sisterfriend Christian Quaker woman who you’re For Always so, so very much!!!!!! 🙂 <3 WOW, Patricia, WOW!!!! What a very deeply spiritual and profound blog post article here by absolutely FANTASTIC YOU beautifully and brilliantly composed by you, my so, so very dearest and darling sister and friend!!!!! WOW!!!!! The title of this empowering crafted blog post article here is just perfect, absolutely perfect, and perfectly fitting and applicable to the great themes and topics of your very engaging and salient writing. The picture which you have as usual as always very graciously and generously featured and included with this very fine and excellent article here is just perfect, absolutely picture perfect here. Now I have a very yummy, delicious, and delectable idea as to how to eat baked naked peaches, sistah! Sister, I've never done this before except for baking peach cobbler, Patricia!!!!! What a mouth watering and enticing idea you have here, sistahfriend of mine!!!!! I get such great information, ideas, and links to resources, materials, articles, and videos from YOU, my absolutely AWESOME friend, Patricia!!!!! 🙂 <3 The links which you've as usual as always very graciously and generously featured and included with this very interesting and fascinating blog post article contain such great food for thought so chock full of such great information, thoughts, ideas, resources, and materials with these contemplative articles here, Patricia!
Sister, I'm with you here!!!!! 🙂 <3 I without fail start my day anew and afresh with coffee, steaming mugs of hot coffee every day even when it is blistering hot and humid in an Iowa summer!!!!! No matter what I drink hot coffee, hot and steaming mugs of hot coffee every day of the year without ever stopping even when it is really hot and muggy out. Sister, what a great spiritual practice you have here which you've developed over many years, Patricia. I so love how you start your day at the brand new beginning of your day and as to how you review and reflect upon the previous day. WOW, I just can't wait for the morning with the sweet concert with such a delightful symphony of the so, so very cute and adorable birds chirping and singing and with the sun coming up! Sister, I, too, keep journals and I've done so since I was in my twenties back in the 1980s. It is just so awesome and amazing to go back and read my journal entries especially the ones from when I was in my twenties back in the 1980s and just to see where I was at back then and how much I've learned, healed, grown, and recovered all these decades later! It's so nice to get that perspective and that keen clarity, Patricia! Like you, my dear friend, I so love, like, enjoy, and appreciate watching all of the multicolored birds in their vast array and sharp variety flying to and fro and the sweet other creatures scampering from here to there like with the cute squirrels and the other animals. It is just such great fun and a marvelous way to center myself and to feel a deep sense of serenity and gratitude with such steadfast love for our Sweet Spirit and also for all of our Spirit's Nature and creatures both human beings and others!
Sister, WOW, what in depth and blessed sharing here by absolutely AWESOME YOU on "making meaning." WOW, Patricia, your words are just full of such astute and acute sagacity here. I'm with you here that my daily practice of reflection, meditation, and prayer help me to find my way and to grant me greater discernment Sister, you are so wise-we all just cannot contain it all and it all is very much indeed in fact uncontainable. With all of the goings on recently and throughout all of the past through the present like you say with hurricanes, massive wildfires, folks displaced from their homes both in our country and throughout the world, with the evil hate, racism, and xenophobia with the DACA repeal and even going on and on and on we all as beautiful inside and out human beings and precious children of our Good God just cannot absorb and fathom it all as we are finite creatures on this Earth attempting to "make meaning" of it all. You are so right on and on point, Patricia. this does very much feel like grace. We cannot for sure contain it all because all of this in all of its vastness is very much indeed uncontainable as you share and declare here. I, too, surrender to the Uncontainable. I'm with you here, my precious sistah, as I don't minimize or deny or cease asking about what am I to do as I accept the very Uncontainable. I don't renege on my very responsibility just as you don't either, my precious, dear, dearest Patricia! Like you I humbly with such enduring and trust with such utter faith bow my head and rely on Our For Always there for us Spirit doing what I can on a human level and remaining diligently conscientious while at the very same time heeding one of the slogans from my very, very many, multiple 12-Step Programs which I'm such a rejoicing and proud member of, Let Go and Let God. This brings to my mind the very poignant and true words from one of the great articles from the super links which you've very graciously and generously featured and included with these emboldening, encouraging, and inspirational words, "1. Pray. 2. Let go. 3. Listen," which I've adopted for a very long time as a major part of my daily spiritual practice. Our Brother West's very insightful words also uplift me, Patricia, and YOU, too, my and our so, so very right on, wondrously wonderful soul sisterfriend white woman uplift and inspire me as well as you add the very empowering word, "together."
Sister, I've even greater brightness to my very day being just so emboldened, encouraged, and inspired to feel even more cheerful from this such deeply and endearing spiritual article here by so, so very dear, dearest YOU, Patricia!!!!! I'm even more re-energized, renewed, reinvigorated, and rejuvenated in my very, very heart, and in my very, very heart, mind, soul, and spirit from this stupendous and sweetly informative writing here by sweet YOU, Patricia, in all of its grandly great entirety!!!!! I thank-YOU, my dear, dearest special Patricia, and each and every one of you for praying for and thinking of me the way each of you do-I can for sure feel all of your steadfast prayers and thoughts for me which are for certain very much indeed helping me to keep on keeping on keeping my very faith and hope alive with such a sweetly enduring positive optimism!!!!! I do for sure need all of your lovingly heartfelt and sensitively caring prayers and thoughts and you all just keep me going!!!!!! 🙂 <3 I thank-YOU all each and every one of you straight from the very bottom of my heart from the deepest depths of my heart with all that I have with all of my very being!!!!!! 🙂 <3 I just so, so very much A WHOLE BUNCH love and cherish each and every one of you as my sisters and brothers and our So, So Very Precious Spirit's children!!!!!! 🙂 <3 My sisterfriend, I For Always very frequently and daily pray for and think of YOU, sistah of mine, Patricia, for your dearest and darling husband, for your dear Loved One in the long term care facility, for your awesome children, for your sweet grandchildren, for your dearest siblings, for all of the rest of your blessed family, for your very holy and blessedly pure in heart friendsfamily at your special Friends Meeting at Cambridge, for your indomitable yoga friends, and, in fact, for all of your wonderful friends!!!!! It is my very joy, honor, blessing, and pleasure to very often and daily pray for and think of each and every one of you and as well for others to pray without ceasing!!!!! 🙂 <3 WOW, I feel just great, sisterfriend, very joyfully reading and responding to you and your awesome blog with my very heartfelt, thorough, and detailed thoughts, ideas, and comments which is always such joy for me and such awesome fun, too!!!!! 🙂 <3 Patricia, I thank-YOU and God continually FOR YOU and FOR YOUR very presence in my life!!!!! Yay for YOU, Patricia!!!!! Yay for all you do in such a very diligently conscientious manner doing your absolutely very best like with all of your astounding blog post articles, other writings, and books, and with all you do as usual as always!!!!! YAY for our very sisterhood and friendship, Patricia!!!!! WOW!!!!! YAY!!!!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!!!!! Sister, you're For Always my life and eternal blessing just as I know that you are for so, so very many other folks, too!!!!!! I just so, so very much love and cherish you A WHOLE BUNCH, Patricia, as I just know that very many other folks just so love and cherish YOU, TOO just as you love us all so much and dearly and deeply also!!!!!! 🙂 <3 Sisterfriend, please have such a totally thrilling and terrific Thursday, a wondrously wonderful weekend ahead, and may all of your very days be so, so very especially blessed!!!!! YOU are just the very greatest and the best, Patricia, and such the very, very epitome of such overall awesomeness!!!!!! Spirit just so, so very much loves and cherishes YOU, Patricia, and so do I A WHOLE BUNCH, my sisterfriend!!!!!! 🙂 <3
Very Warmly and Sincerely For Always, my so, so very For Always awesomely special and dearly precious soul sisterfriend Christian Quaker white woman who you're For Always so, so very much, Patricia, friend 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, sisterfriend of mine,
Yours For Always soul sisterfriend Christian black woman and For Always in the great spirit of unity and solidarity, Sherry Gordon in Iowa City, Iowa