The Sky is Forever
love and connection in troubled times
Hello Friends,
Chilly winds swept across our neighborhood today. Leaves flapped like papery wings in the sunlight. In the morning I visited a local farm where I purchased an apple pie and thirty pieces of firewood. When I came home, I made a fire in the fireplace and ate lunch next to the roaring flames. Simple joys are more important than ever.
Reflecting On
connection
I received two beautiful reminders from two different friends. These messages came within thirty minutes of each other, and I don’t take that kind of timing for granted. They were meant to cross my path today!
There is so much negativity in the world right now and it’s difficult not to get sucked up into it. Division is everywhere: right against left, left against right, straight against gay, gay against straight, white against black, black against white, men against women, women against men, young against old, old against young. Agitators are everywhere, and while there is so much to be concerned about, the human brain and heart need a rest now and then.
The first friend’s message: stay connected. Supporting our friends and family, reaching out to local organizations or people in need is so important. We need other humans to survive, mentally as well as physically and spiritually. There are many people in our midst trying to exploit our differences. We need to come together through our similarities. But I won’t sugar coat it. There is little I have in common with someone who wants to deprive others of their rights. I will not condone such beliefs. But there are plenty of other people doing their best to help others, and I can find connection and build strength with them.
We don’t know what will happen in our future, but staying connected to reliable information, good people, and our strengths and talents might just help us find a path forward.
The Heart of It
The second friend’s message: trouble fades, but the sky is eternal. This is actually paraphrased because the message was personal, but the idea is the same. Life is ever-changing. It’s our most difficult lesson as human beings, and it’s comforting when trouble moves on, but not so much when good times roll away. We want things to remain the same. We want things to be secure and safe, but sometimes they aren’t. How can we continue knowing this? I’ve asked myself this question many times and the answer is always the same. Control what you can. Make the most of your little corner of the world. My mother used to say this to me all the time, and it infuriated me. I wanted to control so much, I wanted to change so much. Honestly? Making changes to my own world was challenging enough. But soon I discovered small efforts helped others as well as myself. Love is the eternal flame. Apply it liberally to everything you do: love your cooking, love your garden, love your job, love your friends, love your family, love your community, love your devotion to a cause and your efforts really will make a difference.
When the gods (pick your favorite religion) created the world, they created it with love, and therefore it is perfect. I believe this. Everything you create with love is perfect—even if there are tiny flaws in your creation. Our love is never perfect in the strictest sense of the word. Our love is perfect because our intent is pure. When you create with love, you cannot harm others. If a politician creates a law without love of humanity, the law is imperfect because the intent is impure. But if the law is written with love, it is generous in scope. And even when flaws are discovered later, if the intent of the politicians is pure, these flaws can be renegotiated, broadened, corrected to encompass more rights tuned in to a specific group’s need. (More than ever we need men and women of character and good intentions. But I digress.)
I believe I ended my post talking about love because these messages from my friends were sent with love—
—its embrace is enormous and eternal!
Until next time, love, and you will make a difference.
Jan
*“Venus, Planet of Love” photo by Jan M. Alexander © 2024
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*All of my posts are written without the aid of AI.
*Thanks so much for reading! I appreciate every one of you.
I had a similar experience with connecting with loved ones in my neighborhood and in recent conversations with several of my neighbors we agreed in the importance of continuing to foster community and bond together. Connection is so important.