This year, Bev and Linda have organized themes for each month. This month's theme is New Beginnings.
In the last month I've carried those words in my pocket. I've mulled them over and chewed on their meaning. it wasn't until I started to write that I began to make sense out of them.
The Beauty Way that I've referenced in my poem is both a Navajo philosophy and a traditional prayer. This musical version was created by composer/conductor Gregg Smith. I learned the song in a choir ages ago. We might not have sounded as good as this, but singing it with others was/is a glorious experience.
beginning anew
these days,
in the big picture of my life,
it’s more about endings,
than beginnings.
it’s about looking at the finish line,
at what i’ve left undone,
at how we, as a society, have failed
future generations
i watch my grandchildren
and worry about
the mess we're leaving them
it’s easy to let despair creep in
indeed, it’s hard to stave it off
but this morning,
the sun rose on a skiff of fresh snow,
cracks in the clouds revealed
a crazy quilt of blue and white sky
and i remembered
that i can choose
to walk in beauty
so i signed up to volunteer
for the candidate of my choice
exhorting myself
to put in the work
even if we don't get the changes we need
even if we end up losing
the big game
choose anew to hope
choose anew to live and walk the beauty way
Next month's theme is Love and Friendship. Why don't you join us?