by Carol Marcy

 

Riding the Wave

The country churns, 

those in charge, foaming at the mouth, 

spew viscous power grabs and lies.

Confronted by the truth 

not blinking they continue with their lies.

Sometimes it’s hard to know where the truth is hiding. 

It’s easy to get swallowed up by trying to stay informed.

 

The day is warm

The sky blue

The sun shining 

Maybe, I can dig a carrot or two from my garden.

The shovel strikes solid ground

Laughing , how silly to have even tried

One warm day doesn’t melt a month of cold ones.

Outside breathing cool air, 

touching oak bark warmed by the sun

the world seems at peace.

Birds sing sweetly.

A healthy looking vulture flies low

Humm…perhaps a sign of the times.

 

I wake in the middle of the night wondering 

what country I’m living in

what I’ll do if or when he freezes Social Security,

what will we all do.

I’m buying and storing extra food, 

more coffee in case he threatens Columbia again. 

The world as we’ve known it, is no more.

 

I’m thankful for trees, friends, woods, 

Communities like the Center 

and opportunities to do my yoga and qigong, 

write and ground once again.

 

Rick Levine, astrologer, calls this month the Hall of Mirrors. It’s going to be challenging to discern the truth from falsehoods, the real from the fake. So fasten your safety belts and take really good care of yourself.

Stay centered and grounded. How do you do that?  Prayer, meditation, grounding exercises, walking in Nature, hanging out with like minded people, connecting to those you love and with whom you find companionship are some of the ways to not be toppled off balance. It is easy to get pulled down the dark, foreboding rabbit hole through outrage and disbelief.  The purpose of shock and awe is to create immense amounts of insecurity by pulling out from under us the very things we have relied on, creating doubt, fear and even terror. 

Stay present. Take a moment to connect with your breath.  Look around you. Focus on those things that you find are beautiful. Those things that open your heart. That might be another person, your child, your dog or cat, your garden, your favorite tree, etc. What is it for you? Focus on what calls your attention to this moment. What inspires you?  What do you love most of all? 

Stay connected. While there will be moments when you need to withdraw into silence and solitude, use this as a time to recharge into a sense of purpose, connection, action. The worst thing you can do is to numb out. Our culture provides a smorgasbord of possibilities from drugs and alcohol to video games and mindless TV programs, etc. for tuning out. There are a wide variety of groups that are coming to the surface that provide ways to engage that can be meaningful to you. They can be volunteering at a soup kitchen, a family pantry, an advocacy group like Indivisible, Common Ground, groups of resistance like abortion rights, gender rights, immigration rights, women’s rights. The lists are getting longer and longer. It can be a small or large commitment on your part. We have many in the history of our evolving country who can inspire us to be brave, excited and engaged. Do what makes your heart sing!

Stay Safe. There are lots of organizations putting out good information about how to protect yourself and loved ones. Research what you need to know.

 

The Center for the Spiritual Journey, offers a variety of programs to help meet your needs. Journeying Thursday afternoons, 1 to 2:30 the Center is open and the discussions or activities are free. Come make some new friends, explore this community of opportunities.

The Center is in the process of designing a series of programs to introduce people to a variety of organizations both local and national.  Some of the organizations focus on how to be safe and some on taking positive action. There are also a lot of different levels of engagement and choices in the kinds of positive action that you might feel comfortable taking if you choose to do so. The purpose of this program will be to help you be more informed about the possibilities. Keep an eye open for more information to come.