#MicroPoetry|July ’22 Reflections

On that day between spring and summer, which is often elusive, though we know it on our calendar, something magical happens. As with all magic, we have to pay attention. Wonder too often is obscured by sales jingles and Tik Tok’s barrage of adorable distractions.

Go outside on that magical day and listen … deeply. At first, it’s a simple whistle, one feathered wonder, a lone bloom, or a solitary light display of colour. But if we pay attention, we are reminded of Creation’s resilience and abundance. Our non-human companions, trees and beavers, flowers and earth, all sing Abundance’s song.

What happens in this moment teaches us that such magic is always occurring.
How shall we respond?

When I am at a place that I am unable to harness the gifts I bring to community, in a good way, I flounder and too often am tempted to think I have the answer. Too often, well always, this proves to be wrong.

We each bring a certain set of wisdom, experiences and gifts that are unique to us. So too does everyone in whatever community that gathers to dream and act.
As you reflect on those particular blessings you carry, how have you experienced they are amplified when shared with the gifts of others?

In this time of ‘fake news,’ ‘tribalism,’ and us/them thinking it is understandable that our imagination can become stuck, and we develop a sense of disempowerment. This acknowledgement is significant as it is an invitation to recognise this and also to move away from such inertia.

Our ability to anticipate the future is one of our key gifts and, in turn, collective responsibilities. What we imagine begins to shape that which will be. This power, shared agency, requires collective intention. Such commitments helps us then to bring together our imagining and translate it into action that seeds the future.

Who do we imagine we are?
What is the best that we might see reflected in the mirror?
What world do we want to leave for those who shall follow us?

Each of these questions highlights a simple, and yet profound reality of the examined life: the person we are, and that which others experience is directly connected with what energy, what intention, we harness. The question then, is does the current energy we use to propel ourselves allows us to help ourselves and others to embrace the blessings we possess for the benefit of all?

I have had the honour to sit at death’s bed where the solemnity and solace has been interrupted by laughter clear and pure …

I have been at protests in which the tension between right and wrong, us and them, hang heavy only to be lightened by unexpected, shared joviality …

We are meant to shine, to be those who manifest joy in the midst of how our lives unfold. This unfolding is not always easy. The resilience that comes with being open to joy’s arrival is a testament to the power of being present in life’s myriad experiences.

Life is weird. Let’s recognise that in the moment of Now, we can be here, in the past, and the future all – often – at the same time. Our lives may follow a straight line, but our thinking and designing are not so bounded.

In this space out of time, if you will, is still in time. We inhabit multiple moments. Embracing practices that help us prepare for this paradox allows us to collectively capture the opportunity to share in such holy work.

I believe we are each invited to be actively involved in shaping days we will never see.
I believe we are responsible to consider those whom we will never meet in the choices we make today.
I believe we are entrusted with days that are short but which will determine if what we do today creates an inheritance that is as abundant as that which we have received.

I remember when my partner and I first moved to Saskatchewan. We were living in the northern wheat belt and were driving in the small town in which we had settled. On our first winter, we saw a sundog. This is an exceptionally beautiful rainbow that embraces the sun when light refracts off of ice crystals on an exceptionally cold day.

As we stopped and went into the local gas station, we shared our awe pointing at this phenomenon and those with whom we shared our wonder just shrugged. This moment has been a teacher ever since.

As you walk into the everyday, how do you ensure wonder is not muted?
As you have walked into the everyday, when has wonder interrupted a day that might have been muted until that moment?