A Moment Of Quiet
Dear friend,
Today was a whirlwind of my own making, diving into things that fascinate and unsettle me in a pleasurable kind of way. Fun discomfort, you might call it.
Researching and reading and music and writing. I had a listen to David Bowie’s Heroes album while I tidied up a bit. After writing to you, I’ll check the plants—the ones in pots have been baking in today’s heat.
And then cook something for when Chiara gets back from the airport.
She’s been in Hamburg teaching.
There are so many worrying things going on, and it’s moving and inspiring to see so many ways people are coming together to care for their neighbours and communities.
Love and unity—stronger than fear and separation.
And being scared is a gateway to courage.
So not knowing what to do, or how to begin, is as good a place as any. Growth and change are rarely comfortable, but we’ve been conditioned to equate comfort with safety.
Discomfort attends growth—a kind of midwife at the birth of something new.
A young kid is screaming “Oh my God!” over and over, and there’s a clicking sound like a plastic bat hitting a plastic ball. His little sister squeals, shrill like a coach’s whistle—musical though. Delight is threaded someplace through both of them. During COVID, you’d hear their mother exploding—emotionally overwhelmed. She’d been really quiet for a while, but with the warm weather we’ve heard her shouting a bit more lately.
For their family, the sounds are normal.
It’s hard to know how to help, so I listen and do my best to send well wishes. Take a quiet moment and suspend participation in naming and judging. The boy seems to like the phrase—he’s experimenting with his voice.
“Oh my God.”
Said five times. Now he’s silent, and a jet engine makes the air at ground level rumble almost imperceptibly.
I feel grateful for those early years of love and stability and routine—with Mam and Dad and Kevin. And Titch and Timmy the budgies. And Chester the cat. And Nana and Grandad. It’s not that all of that is going away. We’ll have more belonging on the other side of these changes.
It’s bringing people out onto the streets, and people are talking about the need for changes that include all of us.
It’s a good idea to rest from the whirlwinds and be still for a moment. Feel the light of the sun on your skin. Take a lungful of air, and then another.
Humane networks of love and belonging are growing all over the world.
Till tomorrow
Love
Mikey