PEBBLE
Truthfully it is a little corny to be alive but…without love, without us caring for each other, life is…not that good. So please be genuine, be kind, and keep going.
-Adam J. Kurtz, shared by Melanie in California
BOULDER
It’s not how long the rain falls or how hard the wind blows
Or how deep is the snow in the road
Nor the balance we fake when we feel the ground shake
And we think that our world will explode
It’s the help that we give.
It’s the love that we live
It’s our pride in the friendships we form
It’s the courage we show facing things we don’t know
It’s the way that we weather the storm.
-Benjamin Scheuer, from the song “Weather the Storm” in the musical “The Lion”
shared by Kelly in New Hampshire
PONDER
Every week I hear from people facing big stuff: work stuff, personal stuff, life stuff. Relationship stuff, health stuff, financial stuff, coming out stuff, oppression stuff, political stuff, despair stuff.
A. Lot. Of. Stuff.
It is so much stuff that sometimes it feels a little overwhelming, especially because I’m usually dealing with a pile of my own stuff, too.
You know what helps to bring me back to center? The realization that every single person I hear from is somehow finding their way through their stuff. They made it to today, and they are making it through today, too. Which reminds me that I made it to today, too.
I’ve listened to the song featured as today’s Boulder many times since Kelly shared it a few weeks ago, and there’s a line toward the end that gets me every time: “Truth gets revealed when you’re broken and healed / Every heart is made stronger by scars.”
Whatever stuff you’re facing right now, and no matter how mild or turbulent the forecast for the coming days: take a moment to notice that you made it to today. That could be a sign that you’re doing better than you’re giving yourself credit for.
Peace,
Paul
P.S. Sometimes I don’t have anything to add as a post script and I think, “that’s okay…you don’t always need to have a post script.” But then when I go to assemble the issue, it feels naked without one. Sing it to me, Elsa: Let. It. Go.
