Waking

 I found this week to be hard. I wept through much of the Democratic Convention. To hear words like God, hope, dignity, and light spoken right out loud on a national stage reminded me that I had been thirsting in a dry land, and that I was certainly not alone.  We have been battered by an onslaught of venomous name calling, falsehoods, disease, economic despair, racial inequality, and now fire.  This week it all caught up with me, and try as I might, it seemed I just could not get much accomplished at all.  Of course, as I write this, I wonder why I tried so hard.  The effort was probably misguided, and not particularly kind to myself.    

I think what led me to this understanding was a dream I had two nights ago.  I woke in darkness with a sense of anxiety.  That has not happened in quite some time.  However, I did what I always do in nocturnal wakings: I prayed. While a return to sleep took a little longer than usual, I eventually drifted off. I then dreamt that I was in the ocean.  Not on, but in. However, I felt no fear, no desperation of not being able to breathe. I was not even trying to swim. I was simply enjoying being in the sparkling clear blue water as I watched hundreds of colorful, glistening fish of all sizes and shapes swim by me, all gracefully moving in the same direction. I was mesmerized.  Also present were remoras, the small cleaner fish, who were tending to the gills of the sleek, silvery sharks.  I mentioned the dream and the remoras  to a friend who commented, "Ah, cleaning up."  I so appreciated that comment.   

This morning, another friend of mine shared on FaceBook the attached photograph of this  incredibly beautiful quilt, entitled, "Thetis - the Goddess of the Sea," attributed to Lila Tilipan, a quilt artist from Budapest, Hungary. I am reminded of just how connected we all are, despite any messages intended to lead us to believe otherwise.   

   

Blessings, friends, and take good care of all of you.  You are worth that much, and so much more.   Alas, I am waiting to hear from the friend who commented on my dream to let me know if she and her husband had to evacuate. The fires on our beloved coast are fierce right now, and the firefighters are stretched thinly.  Let us hold on and pray. 

  

Love, 

Sue Ann