 "Hope is a state of mind, not a state of the world. Hope is not a prognostication; it's an orientation of the spirit and the heart that transcends the world and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons." -- Vaclav Havel To say that 2021 has been a helluva year for me is the understatement of my life. Just in one area -- my health -- I've undergone two surgeries in five months for different issues, with a third to follow in a week or so. After picking the pieces of myself up off the floor from an "impossible" but possible diagnosis earlier, I pulled on all my physical, emotional, and spiritual resources to help me get through. I've upped my qigong practice, gathered my most grounded and compassionate friends around me, and read through the still rough but improved draft of my book, "The Beautiful Thing: A Write of Passage from Shattering Loss to Wholeness in a World that Needs to Hear Your Story." I'm presently revising Part I, "Translate Your Life into the Language of Story," specifically the section on "The Healing Storyteller." This teller doesn't necessarily tell stories with happy endings, although sometimes she does. But throughout, her tales radiate a life-giving spirit that shines with unconditional love for life, no matter what. This is the medicine that heals regardless of outcomes. In stories, the protagonist finds it just when everything seems lost. In life, it can be found in the darkest of places when we surrender completely to reality. Not submit as a victim; but surrender to reality as a potential creator. Call it hope, the miraculous, or the healing imagination. It doesn't require a specific vision or shape. For me, it's a pure spaciousness. I often envision the color yellow or gold, which introduces a kind of smiling and patient state of mind that embraces all of my life's experiences. In the wise stories to which I have devoted my life, it's called the Grail -- that which heals all wounds. For me, this state of mind fits better than optimism about a specific outcome. It's a connection to Great Mind, which holds the All is Well reality beyond my ego or the details of my personal life, and guides me to action that exists for no other reason than that it feels like the right thing to do. This deep love of life -- just as it is -- is truly a beautiful thing to experience, and in my story sanctuaries I try to impart this spirit, this heart, this embrace to my listeners. My wish for you as we approach this Solstice in our tormented world is entry into this place of peace. Art: Mountain top sunrise, Sharon Duguay |
With gratitude, |
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