The story you could share right now
If you took time to write it down,
What have these days been like for you
What is causing you to frown?
Name it in words, paint or song
Just give birth to it loudly
what is strumming from the inside out
You could create it all quite proudly
It doesn't need fanciness,
proper spelling or any "rightness"
The world needs *your* unique gift
Dark times insist upon lightness
Perhaps if you tell out your truth
It will come out with a rhyme
As you lay everything out to explore
What's more worthy of your time?
Maybe it will end up becoming
A graphic novel or animated cartoon
A continuous sort of picture tale
Of the sun always chasing the moon?
Or consider a "dear diary" capture
Things you are going to do
Sadness, thoughts and worries
And the way life has become new
Ultimately what matters most to me
Is how we will look back-
Did we spend all our time complaining?
Always searching for a snack?
The things I am hearing at this point
so far are mostly inspiring--
People using time with intention
Helps us with our rewiring
Our brains and our hearts have work to do
We are undoing some pretty tight knots
And in loosening up and digging in
We'll plant seeds in brand new pots
Things that are transformative
You might look back and say:
I made art! We baked bread!
And I wrote a brand new play!
I know we've had more family dinners
Than we ever have had before
Others sewed masks for doctors
And it didn't even feel like a chore
New perspective gained through simplicity
Walking through your town each day
Happy hours and board games on zoom sessions
Amazing, how there's always a way
Maybe you're due to graduate,
senior year keeps slipping away,
Yet, your friend-created "minecraft world"
Brings laughter, connection each day
Your maternity leave that felt too short
Is suddenly back again
More moments to snuggle your baby
An invitation to retreat in your den
Working from home is an adjustment
Helping kids learn can be hard too
Be gentle with your kids and yourself
You WILL see how much you grew
Take deep breaths, slow it down,
build lasting new habits of mind
Try basic yoga, meditate, and pray
Look inside of yourself to find
New strength, new hope: it's happening
And for how long, no one can know
Is that terrifying or liberating?
What you water is what will grow
Enjoy your coffee hot each day
Take deadlines in stride if you can
Bike ride, do puzzles, maybe take a bath
Consider this all part of a plan
A worldwide reset to change us all
For better or worse it will be
Let's not overlook our chances
Look deep within and wake up culturally
These words just keep on coming
They seem to originate from my core
It's hard not to feel what's at stake here
Which is why I must implore
Try to be present and mindful
Go outside, then come back in
And know that your best is good enough
Seek your inner grin
The thing that lights us up is calling,
Awareness is essential to activate
It may be your point of pride one day
(And not that extra snack you ate)
Writing these words feels personal
Getting it out feels good and needed
Moving through it, not around it
My thought garden, fully weeded
Whatever your thing is *matters*
Go find it, do it, and believe
Rising up is happening everywhere
So what could you conceive?