"In the grace of the world ..." - Wendell Berry

I rest in

When despair grows in me

and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting for their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

~ by Wendell Berry

  the grace

of the world

Someone asked today "How do we make sense of violence in the world and how do we understand what makes a person cause such harm?"  My head had many words to share, though not any answers.  My body, however, knows just what to do and seems to deliver me without thought to finding beauty, if even only for a moment.  Living near a beautiful beach is indeed a privilege and often I escape for a walk letting my body get its fill of fresh air in my lungs, sunshine or misty rain on my face and beauty all around.  None of it changes the world, but it changes me in ways that make me strong once more to face the questions that defy answers and strong once more to face a world desperate for more bodies, minds and souls rooted in beauty and balance.  May all beings have access to rest in the grace of the world and knowing so many do not, may those of us who do have access, drink deeply and remember not to rest too long and then get busy.

, and am free.

These times are strange for everyone, I think, but in different ways.

       For many the events of last week seem unreal and the reverberations from the blasts continue, catching us in ways we could not have imagined.  Hearing the words “going out for a run” from a daughter, a friend asking if you want to “head into town for some shopping,” or lacing up your own sneakers, heading out for a walk or a run along the beach.  I had one of those moments today as I sat outside of the Haverhill High School pool finishing my coffee before heading in to teach swim.  It’s a parking lot I know so well.  For several years I pulled in there with my car full of my own children all ready to compete in swim meets, the car full of donations for the bake sale and the building about to be swarming with swimmers aged 6 to 18, coaches, officials, volunteers and families and friends eager to cheer them on.  Now, I arrive 2 weekdays to teach swim and some Saturdays to coach, and occasionally to walk the track.  At times the parking lot is full, especially in good weather as athletes and families head over to the adjacent track and fields with lacrosse sticks, soccer balls or just eager smiles.  This morning as I sipped my coffee I thought “wow – what if it happened here?” My mind stopped imagining the scene as fast as I could.  My own imaginings making me shudder.  Strange start to an ordinary day.

     These times are strange for everyone, I think, but in different ways.  Strange for those of us for whom violence is such an anomaly – at least in terms of what we see and experience first-hand each day.  Strange too for those who watch on and say “Do you finally get it?  This IS what life is like for us, all the time?” And those who say “Why all the attention and resources on this slice of violence?  Is it the color of the faces of most of those injured? It cannot be that it’s because it’s in Boston, because our children were lost here too. They weren’t running a marathon though.  They were walking home from school.”

     And strange as well for those who wonder “Did we fail this young man somehow?” This is the question that some will keep inside for fear of seeming unsympathetic to the victims or worse, traitors.  And it is a question that lived with me this weekend as I felt my heart fill with hope watching our youth sharing themselves with brand new faces at the Springfield UU Congregation, working together with those youth to improve a stretch of waterfront, leaning in to conversations with people fishing for dinner along the river, competing with heart and soul in a sing-off around a campfire and offering their reflections to a weekend of bonding and service.  On my late-night drive back to a city just beginning to express a sigh of relief I wondered “Where were we with this young man? The young man who shot up a school room in Connecticut? And others? “  Maybe we were with him and it just didn’t matter.  Or, maybe not.  We can’t know all the answers.  But I pray we don’t let vengeance or fear of not seeming ‘caring’ or ‘patriotic’ enough get in the way of asking the questions and seeking answers that may well lead to a safer and more just tomorrow ~

Cannot bring back lives but can learn to tweet ~

A longer post later but right now I'd like to share a call to action for those using Twitter and a nudge to those who aren't yet using it but would if suddenly a reason compelled them to try (just go to twitter.com and follow directions to establish an account).https://twitter.com/

HuffingtonPost was good enough to post a list of all of the Twitter Handles (account names that you can write to) of the US Senators who voted against the background check gun control measure.  If, like me, you are any of the following: displeased, outraged, disappointed, beyond words, angry, sad, frightened, ticked off by fear and/or greed based voting, etc... you might wish to directly tweet each of the following addresses and share your reaction:

@SenAlexander,@KellyAyotte,@SenJohnBarrasso,@MaxBaucus,@SenatorBegich,@RoyBlunt, @JohnBoozeman,@SenatorBur,@SaxbyChambliss,@SenDanCoats,@TomCoburn,
@SenThadCochran,@SenBobCorker,@JohnCornyn,@MikeCrapo,@SenTedCruz,
@SenatorEnzi,@SenatorFischer,@JeffFlake,@GrahamBlog,@ChuckGrassley,
@SenOrrinHatch,@SenatorHeitkamp,@SenDeanHeller,@SenJohnHoeven,@jiminhofe,
@SenatorIsakson,@Mike_Johanns,@SenRonJohnson,@SenMikeLee,@McConnellPress,@JerryMoran,@lisamurkowski,@SenRandPaul,@robportman,@SenMarkPryor,
@SenatorRisch,@SenPatRoberts,@marcorubio@SenatorTimScott,@SenatorSessions,
@SenShelbyPress,@SenJohnThune,@DavidVitter,@SenatorWicker

We cannot bring back any of the lives lost to gun violence in our country but we can impact tomorrow and the next day and the next ~ 

Unitarian Universalist Congregation Offers Service of Sadness, Solace and Solidarity

     I have never been more grateful for the power of social media. As the tragic events of Monday unfolded, we needed a way to determine who might have been injured by the marathon bombings.  We always have people participating. One member is always at the finish line outside of Marathon Sports, others either participate or spectate and many work in Boston. It's such a close and caring community, I knew we needed a way to connect and keep each other informed. THANK YOU facebook, mass emailing and texting!  Within minutes notices of safety were shared and sighs of relief spread throughout the congregation.  

     Like everyone else, we're still dealing with the grief, the shock and the urge to make meaning in a time when that isn't likely possible.  What we can do is come together and make a space for people to express their grief and shock, light candles of sadness and hope be with one another as we try to move forward.  

     None of us have answers to the 'why' this happens or the 'how' we can protect ourselves but we know how to make space to companion one another.  Now is the time to do just that, and then more forward asking 'when' will we take violence in all of its many forms seriously.  Now is the time to live the answer and we can only do that in solidarity with all those impacted by acts of violence.

**The UU Congregation of Marblehead has postponed plans to celebrate Earth Day and instead will hold a service of holding sadness, sharing solace & expressing solidarity.  All are welcome.  Children will be invited to participate in an activity outside of the worship space following a story for all ages.  Consider joining us. The service will be Sunday at 10:30 am and child care is provided.