"The Light in the Darkness Around Us"

31 January 2018: I have been joking for a while now (well, maybe 30 days?) that January seems like the longest month ever. Like it is January 74th today. It's been a long, hard month--even with all the good stuff. It is so hard to feel alienated and discouraged and like the world is just getting worse. Thus I am so grateful that a friend of mine shared this link today, Parker Palmer's reflection on William Stafford’s “A Ritual to Read to Each Other.” I wasn't familiar with the poem, but it's worthy of careful reading and reflection.

The closing lines:

"For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to
          sleep;
the signals we give — yes or no, or maybe —
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep."