Dear Friends,
Last night I attended a concert alongside the Connecticut River. It was a perfect night – relaxation and low humidity, sky resting in shades of blue and pink, breeze off the river tossing my hair, and great music dipping into my heart and soul. Christine Ohlman affirmed my desire to “jump right in to the deep end of the river of love, love, love.”
The space outside the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT was packed with people! People wearing hats, summer colors, and smiles. Lots and lots of smiles! Many stayed in the their seats, but many others moved their bodies to the music – up near the band or in the small spaces between their chairs. Children ran around, dancing too, joining the adults in a celebration of life. When I wasn’t dancing, rare but occasional, I looked at the faces around me. I watched people talk and hug, sit and stare, all absorbed in the moment, and I wondered, “Is it just me, or is something different here?” “Are the colors brighter? The music more poignant? Our hearts a little softer?”
We’re all different. You. Me. The lady in the lime green caftan, the guy swinging his partner around with abandon, the young mom moving her little one in time with the music. We’re all different this July of 2022. Our shared experience in the last two years has changed our understanding of life, of innocence, of loss. Just as after the death of a loved one, our lives are not returning to “normal.” We are forever changed, transformed, by the losses and associated grief while living through a pandemic and time of social unrest.
So what is my response? Friends, I am acknowledging the reality of this sea change in my life on Earth. I’m accepting the demands it makes on me, am riding the waves of “adjustment,” but I am not without resources. I dance. When I dance, my whole body moves to the music – catches the rhythm, slides with the groove, sings the anthem of life. I listen. I listen for wisdom from friends, like Christine, who are traveling these times with me. I listen to the symphony of birds outside my window. I know Love, I am gifted by time with loved ones – we are nourished and changed for the better.
My heart extends to unnamed people around me because it isn’t just me, it’s all of us. Our human family. Let’s choose love as often as we can, life is too precious to miss.
Join me? much love, Lisa