Today’s audio LoveGram is being sent to you from a moment when I can come up for air, in the midst of some darkness.
I talk a lot about the metaphor of a nightlight — that saving grace we can find during times when we feel like we are lost in the dark.
I repeat it a lot because it is always what I turn to in my own life.
You are my nightlight today! 💡
Our home feels heavy with despair as my sweet son continues to struggle to find his way through a heart-shattering break-up and the isolation of college-from-home.
As well, the air in our city is heavy with ash — the tangible remnants of so many people’s grief.
We had a day this week in which it was pretty much pitch dark the entire day — that seems like an apt metaphor for how life can feel sometimes, you know?
Even the old saying, “The sun will come up tomorrow,” didn’t seem believable for a moment in time.
In the middle of all that, here we are. You, me, all of us … holding hands and walking one another home. (Thank you, Ram Dass!)
And the sun does rise again — and again.
We can watch it together — in the light or from the shadows.
***
When I started creating these audio LoveGrams at the beginning of the pandemic, I thought it was going to last a month or two. I thought we’d all be back to normal by summertime.
It’s September and I still don’t know what’s ahead.
However, I just want to say that I’m here with you.
Still.
And, I deeply appreciate you being here with me.
As I talk about in today’s LoveGram, this connection to you is a lifeline for me. We are one another’s bridges.
Be kind + gentle to yourself and everyone you meet.
As you’ll hear in a poem which I read in the audio, “We don’t know what anyone has swallowed.”
Sending you love and the sound of the mourning doves. Sending you my red hibiscus flowers, which bloom even when the sky is ash gray. Sending you a burst of lemon and the sound of wind chimes from across the way.
Seek celebration — even in dark corners,
xo Sherry
P.S. Earlier this week I facilitated a panel for Mango Publishing and the topic was grief and fear. Our two authors shared some helpful practices. Especially about leaning in to both grief and fear in order to move through them. Otherwise, they nestle in. I encourage you to listen. (That panel was held at 1:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday. You can see how dark it is in my studio. That was our no-daylight day.)