Hello Sherry!
Hello wonderful friend.
I am glad we are here together, meeting in this moment, both of us intending to find or create some connection, some peace, some added meaning in our lives.
Today, I send you a field of sunflowers, as far as the eye can see.
I send you the wide blue sky, fresh air, the sound of a train whistle in the distance.
I send you a circle of people around a bonfire — the quiet stories, the spontaneous laughter, the remembering of our ancestors.
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I write to you this morning against the backdrop of the heartbreak and horror of war between Hamas and Israel. I write to you from a planet also suffering from the aftermaths of earthquakes, floods, and countless other natural disasters.
I heard a spiritual teacher remind us this past week that “as long as there have been people, there has been war.”
AND, also, as long as there have been people, there has been love. There has been community. There has been friendship and laughter and music and dancing.
We are always being asked to walk the tightrope between hate and love. Between scarcity and generosity. Between fear and hope. Between grief and celebration.
Over and over again, I remind myself that my job is to choose love, in whatever form that takes at any given moment.
Because you are here with me, I suspect that is the same choice you want to make.
We must ask, “Who or what can I offer love to in this moment? What form is the next right action of integrity for me?”
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If you remember, last week in the LoveGram, we were talking about some things that matter most. And I told you that I had a recording I’d be sharing this week about friendship.
One of the foundations of our lives — that which can help us weather so much heartbreak and grief in the world — is the community of people we love.
That matters.
I recorded today’s LoveGram earlier this month, when I was visiting my friend, Rachel, in France.
It is a LoveGram in service of paying attention to what matters, despite everything in the moment that might telling us what is more urgent or important.
To hear the audio LoveGram, click on the link, then scroll down on the page it sends you to, you’ll see the audio player.
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We are all in this together. We are here on this spinning planet, filled with so much beauty and also so much hatred.
Let’s choose to focus on giving and being and serving LOVE.
Okay?
Reach out to someone in your life —maybe an old friend? — and show up with love.
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I hope my words today, or Rachel’s words on the audio, or something in the spaces in between, will awaken in you the feeling of belonging. May you know that you belong — to all of humanity, to a small group of kin, to a special friend, to a furry animal friend, to a patch of earth on this huge planet.
Please know that if you are having a hard time, that you can ask people for help. And, if you are in a good place right now, please look around you to see who might need your love and attention.
No matter what is going on in your world today, please know that you are loved and you do belong.
Please know that YOU MATTER.
Be good to yourself and those around you, okay?
Seek celebration — even in dark corners,
xo Sherry