Sunday, September 5, 2010

reclaiming community

amazing people.

I am lucky to have so many in my life.
truly amazing women and men who inspire me regularly,
who reflect things back to me that I might not have otherwise seen.
who honor and love their family's
who honor and love their friends
who honor  and love themselves (or are learning to) and speak their truths about the beauties and challenges of parenting.

their is something sacred to me about these relationships.
something that calls me to a higher place within myself,
that reminds me who I am and inspires me to fulfil my dreams.

I went with my family back to where we recently moved from.
We went to honor a women who I love and cherish dearly.

good friends here came together and made sacrifices to tend to our dog so that we could make the journey.  Papas beautifully brought the children together... play and food and laughter, while the mama's went to wrap our beloved friend in huge, beaming radiant love.

There, in that room, surrounded by all of this supportive, nurturing, loving energy for this amazing women, I felt awe.

I felt gratitude.

I felt life.

songs and tears flowed like wine, voice sang and spoke their truths.  love blossomed into a beautiful thing that filled us all with something.... something words can not express.


coming together like that, to hold and cherish the one of us who is in need of loving support, having the opportunity to actually say at the very least a fraction of what I feel to her... magic.  

how did it happen?  

how is it that somehow, within this completely malfunctioning society, our broken culture, that we have been able to begin to rebuild what community truly is?  It is amazing.... like grace in the old school song... that saved a wretch like me.
 
truly.

because the reality is that I once was lost... like the majority of people out there who struggle day to day to find what it is to be a women, to be a man.  who battle their instincts with the current trends in parenthood.  who struggle with self image.  who have no idea what it is like to be carried when they have fallen because we have forgotten what it is like to NOT  be alone.

but we're not alone.

I am not alone.

you are not alone.

she is not alone.

we are in this together.

these people are my Grace and I am glad to be part of theirs as well.

I love you all!


community




4 comments:

Jill Ward said...

again.
love. you.
too.
so great to see you guys.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
weird. my word verification is 'unitri'
reminds me of you ;)

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Thank you for being part of my grace. I love the picture you paint here with the brushstrokes of your words. There is still a sense of community in this world, waiting to be rebuilt, waiting to inspire that awe and gratitude you wrote about here.

daniela said...

beautiful, brought me to tears.

ChristyG said...

This post (and the previous one - well, all your posts, really!) is so, so gorgeously. I can feel the emotion and love seeping through each beautifully crafted phrase. Colleen mentioned that you were all getting together last weekend, and I was thinking of all of you so much. What a wonderful way to honour your dear friend. Much love to you.