#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream
“To everyone struggling with the chaos of life in these uncertain times, wabi-sabi asks us to understand the value of slowing down to experience each moment as it passes, taking one thing at a time, and appreciating the calming effect of order and cleanliness.”
Tonight I led my Tuesday night writers, a new session. A large, interesting group. I created a prompt around the theme of Wabi-Sabi. And the writing shared in the group was so moving. Peace and war and everything in between, and beauty. Very heartening. Just after ending group I read an email from an old neighbor who moved away a few years ago to live near their son and his family on the west coast. And the email was to announce the devastating loss of their daughter-in-law, mother of three young children, to cancer. Agh. I feel so much for them and this loss. Oh dear. I will reach out tomorrow. My head is fuzzy tonight, tired. A busy and rich day. Met with a poet friend this morning to talk over our poems because workshop was canceled and that was very special to have a private sharing. Also, met with my Ukrainian group, which is very small and very special. The situation in Kiev: no electricity, unless you have a generator. But we had a very meaningful sharing, as always. And a supportive chat with a friend who is going through something difficult. And my dear friend came by in person for tea by the fire. Another heartening moment of the day. I think so much about love. The heart as the source of the body’s strength on the physical plane. And the emotional plane. And how a heart that has loved never dies. It’s strong with love even after death. Which means a lot but doesn’t stop me from feeling angry about loss. Mothers of young children dying for no good reason. Of Renee Good and the outrageous injustice of her death and the way it’s being framed as justifiable. She smiled and spoke so gently, in such a friendly way to the ICE agents who approached her. Agh. Agh. Agh. I want to write about dinnertime tonight. I haven’t felt much like cooking dinner since the holidays when I made so many meals. But tonight, with Wave home, Frank home, Perri home I made chicken parmesan, which is a bit of trouble. And two vegetables and spaghetti. And my daughter gets Wave to the dining room table for sit down dinners when Grammy has gone to some trouble for a meal. And suddenly Wave appeared in the kitchen. The smell of the chicken cooking always brings hungry people to the kitchen. And he was in a very kind and tender mood. He wanted to know how I would feel about a casual dinner, instead of sit down. So he could have a casual dinner and movie with his mother. And he was asking so nicely I knew I had to say yes. I wanted to say yes. Because he wasn’t demanding or sulking or resisting, or even negotiating: he was asking nicely. So I said yes. I said that would be fine. And my daughter and I smiled at each other after. I said he’d done such a nice job asking. She said they had “workshopped” the request upstairs first! Frank and I had our chicken by the fire at the table. And my aunt sent me love today because I ordered her a new set of sheets for her bed. Sheets with blue flowers. Forget-me-nots. Does this bring teas? Yes, it brings tears. I have so much love in my heart I feel very strong. I asked my Ukrainian friend how she is feeling: Strong. This is how you feel when you have a heart full of love that is beating and a heart full of love when it stops beating too.