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Tag Archives: bring light


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and in it you. [kerri’s blog on two artists tuesday]

many, many years ago a dear person said to me, “i see the full moon out my window, and, in it, you.”

like you – especially if you are a woman – i have had a mixture of flattering comments and detritus thrown my way. this one sentence – spoken to me so long ago – stands in one of the most complimentary spots. it wasn’t sugary sweet, nor cajoling. it wasn’t smarmy; it wasn’t even ingratiating. there was no endgame, no agenda. there wasn’t even any expected response. it just was.

i thought about this the other night while i lay awake in the wee hours. from my cozy spot, out the mini blinds to my right, i could see it – the full moon. and every time i see the full moon, i think of these words.

i don’t think that the person who said this to me knew what kind of a gift they were giving me. i don’t think that they knew i would carry these words for decades. they are tucked in, ready to be plucked and re-heard in the cassette tape of my memory at any moment. they are words of value, words of connectivity, words of great love.

for how often have you stood on the ground-dirt of this earth and looked up at the moon…knowing full well that this – indeed – is the same moon we all see, the same moon that shines on all earth, the same moon above everyone’s piece of ground? when every beloved, every family member, every friend, every person of every single social identifier looks at the moon, it is this moon. no other.

we each – here on this earth – simultaneously inhabit this very moon. we each are a part of its light, privy to its lunar cycles, part of the tide of this earth.

as we watched the olympics opening ceremony, i jotted down many of kirsty coventry’s words as the president of the international olympic committee.

she spoke the african word “ubuntu” and i – a part of the earth and of the moon – immediately was drawn to it.

for ubuntu is translated to: i am because we are.

yes.

she continued, “we can only rise by lifting others…respect, support and inspire one another.”

and “the best of humanity is found in courage, compassion and kindness.”

is not each of us held to this basic moral standard? is not each of us obligated to feel gratitude for a place on this earth? is not each of us – as seen in the moon – here to illuminate the rest of earth, to bring light to others, to be light?

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY

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the edges of the new year. [kerri’s blog on two artists tuesday]

“it is better to light a candle than curse.” (eleanor roosevelt)

and here we are – on the edge of a new year. we are merely a day hike, homemade pizza, a jigsaw puzzle, a bonfire, and a glass of wine away. not much time left now.

it was either when we were on the trail the other day or moseying about doing errands when he said, “ya know how you feel when the new year is almost there – like it’s a fresh start just waiting to happen? i don’t feel that this time.”

i understand.

instead, there is a prevailing sense of dread…one that is like a low frequency vibration in your body…knowing that something is coming and it is not good.

the trepidation is real. there is much cruelty lurking out there – an administration that is just waiting to take power and to prey on the populace of not-haves, the populace they dislike, even hate, the populace from which they will feed their egos and their bank accounts. it is looking to be a dark time and they are intensely gleeful talking about their promises and threats, which makes my stomach hurt.

and so we – like many – wonder how we will survive this dreadful period of time.

we have chosen light.

“if everything around seems dark, look again, you may be the light.” (rumi)

so as we head into this new year – so devastatingly fraught – we will intentionally look for light. we will focus on light. we will carry light with us. we will attempt – truly attempt – to be light.

every bauble will capture our attention. every ray of sunlight. every happy light. every snowflake. every candleflame. every flicker of hope. inside or out. we intend to pay attention. we intend to notice. we know light is not just light – it is given in generosity, in shared time, in words of reassurance, in moments of peace. we intend to linger in light and dispel the dark that threatens us…both in the sanctuary of our home and out in the world.

as we skirt the edges of this new year – 2025 just hours away – we wish you light as well. certainly – together – each bringing giant beams or the tiniest slivers of light – we may counteract the dark.

“darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” (martin luther king, jr.)

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY

like. subscribe. share. support. comment. – thank you. xoxo

buymeacoffee is a website where you may directly impact an artist whose work directly impacts you. xoxo


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find light. [kerri’s blog on merely-a-thought monday]

“in the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan. earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone. snow had fallen, snow on snow. snow on snow. in the bleak midwinter, long ago.” (in the bleak midwinter – gustav holst, christina rossetti)

it is rare now for us to read the news. we are not watching it on any screen nor listening to it. it is bleak, iron-fisted, filled with stone-cold hearts.

but…even now…somewhere, deep in the winter – now darker and colder – now more barren and bleak, is spring.

john o’donohue wrote, “within the grip of winter, it is almost impossible to imagine the spring.”

in the same blessing he also wrote, “from the black heart of winter a miraculous, breathing plenitude of color emerges. … the rhythm of emergence is a gradual slow beat always inching its way forward…”

our wish for each other…that we find in our heartbeat, light. and that we bring that light to another.

and the grip of winter will not hold.

“the cold is relenting; seeds are wakening up. colors are beginning to imagine how they will return…”

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this MERELY-A-THOUGHT MONDAY

like. subscribe. share. support. comment. – thank you. xoxo

buymeacoffee is a website where you may directly impact an artist whose work directly impacts you. xoxo