OUR UNRAVELING WORLD
Witness the unraveling world.
A loose end begins to unwind,
Unnoticed at first, it picks up speed.
Some applaud and cheer
Some laugh nervously
Some hide behind ridicule and disbelief.
Some shut their ears, close their eyes,
go on about their lives as the world unravels
one day at a time.
If the drink is bitter,
Rilke says,
Turn yourself into
wine.
Gathering speed, continuing to unravel, the world turns.
Those who love the world are able to see and hold
hate and
fear,
war and
killing,
oil spills,
destructive
winds,
floods and
fires.
They turn it over and discover the sweetness.
It is okay not to be brimming with hope.
Those who have learned to dwell with grief turn it over.
The world needs those who are present for the healing:
who don’t run away.
who are
awed by sunsets and sunrises,
who embrace
gentle wind and rain,
who see
beauty in the music of diversity,
in the creativity
of the homeless, the lonely, the ones not like us.
The Great Turning:
new ways of
living with the unraveling,
new ways of
caring for neighbors near and far,
new ways of
caring for the land,
new ways of
sharing wealth,
new ways of
loving.
Rilke asks,
Is not impermanence
the fragrance of our days?
*
Thank you to Krista Tippitt and Joanna Macy whose interview last Sunday on NPR's ON BEING inspired this writing.