“In times of turmoil and danger, gratitude helps to steady and ground us. It brings us into presence, and our full presence is perhaps the best offering we can make to our world.” – Joanna Macy
Juxtaposition has been on my mind lately. All the ways the world is/the ways we are/how those ways interact and collide and live.
I woke well before dawn to house rattling thunder/whoosh of winds—-enough to send me out of a cozy bed and into a well loved chair in another room, away from windows. I sat there, adjusting pillows and a blanket and realized I was in total darkness. Only the glow of my cell phone accompanied me.
I thought of people making their ways to early shifts or for other necessary reasons and was glad I could have the luxury of no plans…or of plans easily adjusted. I did think of coffee, I admit, ☺️—but a notification from my electric company said it might be hours—-so, I resigned myself to that fact but was pleasantly surprised to watch the house come back to life sooner rather than later…the whirr of fans, the kitchen airstrip of electronic appliances flashing/beeping/announcing their return.
So, coffee.
Rain.
An hour spent dragging fallen limbs and branches out of the yard and driveway.
A creek full of water, as it should be—maybe our drought is over.
The jostling of clothes in the dryer.
Lemon poppyseed muffins, freshly baked for lunch…and plenty to share at work tomorrow.
Simple things.
A smart person reminded me this week that the world is full of trouble and fools.
Sometimes we have to step in and not be either. “Be present” as writer Joanna Macy reminds us. Know that when we decide to be who we are in this world, the world will adjust even if it seems off kilter at first.
It’s all juxtaposition, friends.
We all fit and if that doesn’t mesh or match, all the better. Be you. 🦎
✌️
agnestirrito 