Tracy and Manny

Continuing my examination of intention, I met with my cousin Tracy (who was here a couple of years ago at this same time) and her friend Manny for breakfast this morning. Tracy and Manny are currently living in Florida but visiting her children in Portland, and they’re both exploring meditation as a way to know themselves better and to grow their relationship in a conscious and mindful way. I appreciated their attentive listening to each other, the cautious and careful way they are exploring commitment; the chemistry between them feels electric. I wish them well. There’s a possibility they might move to Portland in the next year or two, and I’m all for it, if it works for them.

Then I joined Nhc and Kranhu, both Portland blippers, for lunch. We talked about Blipfuture, of course, and what a loss it would be for us if Blip ceased to exist...and at the same time, an unexpected opening. Time for...what? 

I watch what arises in my own heart as I talk to my friends. Activism, relationship, and writing are all vital to me, and just this afternoon I saw on Facebook an article by Toni Morrison that cut to the heart of my self-censoring as a writer, as an activist, as a person on the planet disturbed by hatred, racism, and violence.

She writes, “There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal. I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge--even wisdom. Like art.” 

I stopped at Powell’s and picked up a book on Cuba, inspired by Arachne. Possibilities swirl like the icy wind that runs up my back as I walk the streets.