"she knew it was always a huge mix.
that life was filled with beauty and tragedy
and greatness and joy
and sorrow and grief
and love and hardship.
she knew that.
but this holiday season it seemed so clear.
she kept watching.
amazed at the mix.
even tho she knew this was everyday forever.
it felt new to her.
like she was watching with different eyes.
maybe it was that her eyes were open this time.
and the challenge, she saw,
was to keep her eyes open
and her heart open all at once.
somehow, the holiday season helped her do that."

for whatever holidays you celebrate or don't, for those who are grieving, and for those who are dancing, for those who just gave birth and those who just watched a loved one die, for those who are aching and those who are laughing...here we are in this big mix that i think of as holiness because we're here together. we're here loving and struggling and crying and laughing all together. we need each other, we are connected to each other, and somehow, beyond any of my understanding, we ARE each other. again, for more reasons that i don't understand, i feel it keenly this holiday season.

maybe for at least moments this season, maybe we could try to drop the separateness, to feel the oneness and to reach out and lean into each other. maybe for at least moments, no matter where we are with life, we could stop and feel each other and remember we are part of some sort of mystery that is worth pausing for, and worth honoring.

wishing us all peace this holiday season.

squeezin' your hand,