The shithole that is Anno Domini 2020 began last year on Christmas night. We had a new moon that evening, providing velvet darkness that brought out every star for our holidays. This moon was particularly special – it was a powerful new moon eclipse, a final gift for the yuletide.
“Stay woke” means to stay awake; stay watchful; notice what’s going on around you; become aware of the policies and politics and people who maintain inequity and injustice in our community. Then do something about it. Today, our scripture is screaming at us to “stay woke.”
The Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön tells the story of a woman being chased by tigers. She gets to the edge of a cliff as the tigers close in on her. She looks over the cliff and luckily discovers a vine with which to climb down. As she’s descending away from the tigers, she looks down and notices that on the ground below, more tigers pace back and forth.
Last night, at the stroke of twelve, we let go of 2014. For some this “letting go” held regret, for others celebration. I’m not sure where I was on the spectrum between the wistful romanticism of another year gone and the joy of charging full-bore around the bend into the unknown.
Now that we are into February of the new year, I’m at a place removed so I can adequately reflect on the year that was 2012. It has taken the better part of a month to process, and even still, I’m not sure how to digest it all. But here’s a first crack at getting my thoughts, questions, and overwhelming confusion out of my head and into this blog.
What happens to us when a deeply loved dream dies? But what happens after we’ve tried once more, stood up once more, gone further, and refused to give up ad infinitum until there is nothing left to give?