Something new.
[No. 34]
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS?
“There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins…”
I was having quite the week.
Then, my daughter came into the kitchen to read me a draft of her essay for 11th grade English class. She drew me in with her descriptors and humor of how she corralled her cabin of 10-year olds out of bed to the dining hall on a humid morning, how she went to see them in their various artistic elements.
“Before, my day was filled with dread and annoyance, but now I have enormous gratitude to have been invited backstage as a hair-braider and confidant.”
Her time as a camp counselor in Missouri was articulated generously. I, meanwhile, after a long day of calls about hurricane leaks and new roof dreams, was staring at a cursor which blinked back at me, blankly.
Image from Equine Helper
The image of a horse with blinders comes to mind. Our thinking can be focused to a fault sometimes. We seek to make things happen in specific ways rather than being open to mysterious design. Even when we pull into a cul-de-sac, who is forever holding us there? We can turn around and find a new avenue by retracing our steps and opening our eyes.
My friend Elly likes to ask, “What would it take to make [YOUR DESIRE] possible?” Even when we have yet to see the way through a situation [be it professional, political, spiritual], we have at our disposal the ability to remain open to the unknown. Nature shows us time and time again that openings magically appear where least expected. Have you ever seen a blade of grass growing up through a dense slab of sidewalk in the city? Now that is an unlikely level of malleability.
If you have ever assembled a piece of furniture from Ikea, you know that even with instructions, the experience can feel harrowing. There comes a time in that process when stepping away for a moment allows for us to come back with greater insight, to lower the stakes.
To look at the negative space.
We can learn from life’s simpler moments. What would it take to live in a society that feels equitable? What would it take to eradicate food scarcity? What would it take to create a world where everyone has a roof over their head and healthcare? What would it take to build environments that are safe and welcoming for our children? As we face the questions ahead of us as a society, we must turn on our night lights and welcome in our most cryptic dreams.
Canvases.
Re-birth is happening, all around us.
As I stared at the white page to write to you, I shared with my daughter the two questions that I was pondering, and she replied, “Well, those are hard ones. Pick a different one. See where it takes you.” So, here we are.
When we think we are stuck, we are actually opening the metaphysical mailbox to find an invitation to tap into our greater imagination. We are being asked to trust in the unseen, the yet to be discovered, the opportunities of another way. To keep seeking the in-between.
“…And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.”
Shel Silverstein