This weekend has given me some much needed rest and restoration. My daily rhythm has been reading, working in the gardens, showering off the sweat and grime and settling down with a creative project for the evening. It has been a marvelous respite from the daily tension of the recent days/months.
These restorative moments help me grieve all sorts of things. Perhaps like you I am grieving favorite aspects of my job, now gone, at least for now. I grieve places I can’t go, people I can’t see and things I can’t so. I am grieving death numbers I can’t comprehend and ones that I can personally feel. With light, color and inspiration, the creative projects touch that which I often wall off. The songs of nature (or my music app) help me traverse over the protective wall I often feel I must erect just to get my job done. The dirt keeps my grounded, the plants keep me hopeful.
Some of us are knee-deep in homework and noisy kids, navigating the preverbal work/life balance. Others are in the sandwich generation of caring for aging parents and young adults (from afar), wondering what year retirement might really happen. Others are hoping those unemployment checks keep coming, and others are watching plans disintegrate before their eyes. In the midst of all of that, what is keeping you grounded and hopeful?
Please tell us what keeps you grounded and hopeful. Why? Because often times we may not even realize what grounds us until we say it out loud, or someone else does and we find ourselves responding, “Hey, me too!” So, share for you. Share for the community.
May you be surrounded by the sweet fragrances of spring, Andrea
Andrea Tatley 