More Shall Be Revealed

There are many worlds opening themselves over here.

I haven’t told many people yet, but I am back in school. I won’t graduate with a diploma at the end of the two year program, but I will become an ordained inter-spiritual minister. 

I decided to enroll this summer after looking into the program at 1Spirit last year.  I’ve always been fascinated by religion and spirituality and have long grappled with my own belief system. I believe in a higher power. I believe in the interconnectivity of each and every one of us with the stars and the moons and the trees, frogs, dirt and that absurd little yellow flower I once saw shoot up and out of a crack in the cement sidewalk in midtown, bursting forward with a puffed up chest and a broad face that said “Hello, world.”

Do I believe in God though? Honestly, I don’t know what that means or if I do, and that is why I wanted to pursue this course of study. This is a year of revelations, both pleasant and unpleasant, and in my journey to find meaning I have realized that there is a host of fertile worlds within me that I want to nurture and learn how to share. 

I attended an information session for the program in January, just two weeks after Oscar died. I’d scheduled the session in December over the holidays and when I walked passed Penn Station to visit the nearby offices, I felt like an alien who’d been dropped in a bowl of murky Earth water. The city was too loud. The people scurrying past (oh to see masses of people scurrying again!) were too loud. The voice in my head saying “it’s crazy to be going to an introduction about seminary at a time like this” was too loud. 

But the quietest voice - the one that is so easy to ignore and miss - whispered “you’re right where you’re supposed to be.” 

In keeping with that, here I am. I’ll keep you posted as the next next right thing reveals itself. 

Hello, worlds.

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Mirar 

I see the speech of leaves 

touch their song 

ingest scent

Ruby gems laid beside 

fading citrine.

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Autumn has arrived.

Small signs point

to grandeur, meaning. 

Isn’t it marvelous?

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What are you seeing?

Talking box punditry 

political chicanery

So many opinions 

So little truth.

---

The goldfinch sings 

on the banks of the Hudson.

Yellow and black flitting 

from branch to rock.

For the love of wings

wonder and astonishment

Admiration.

Grit.

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The word marvel comes from the Latin mirari. 

To be surprised.

Dead language.

Scattered, yet

still with us.

A reminder.

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What are you doing with your long forgotten pieces? 

Where do they live today?

Lungs open and close

Silent engine of all.

Grounded, 

angel wings taking flight. 

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What are you seeing in the wind?

Have you taken your leave 

or are you leaving your senses? 

The tyranny of resilience 

means that I am still here. 

My poem “Mirar,” to look in Spanish, was featured in the Narrative Healing community, a beautiful community created by my dear friend and literary guide Lisa Weinert. If you are a writer, in name or in spirit, I highly recommend you check it out. The community has been a lifeline during this challenging year.  And Lisa’s support has meant more than I can actually put in words.

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Last of all, in my other life I have been hard at work on the global launch of COUNTDOWN, a call to action on climate change. It’s our first FREE conference. There will be TED Talks from scientists, artists, business leaders and more, plus performances and celebrity guests (Mark Ruffalo! Prince William! Someone else I can’t mention yet!! Priyanka Chopra Jonas! Jane Fonda!). See the full line-up here. You won’t want to miss it. 

Tune in on TED’s YouTube channel (set your reminder here) on Saturday, October 10, from 11am - 5pm ET. Hope you will join us. 

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*A special thanks to Lisa Gironda, the best editor a friend could ask for, my very own Boswell. I too couldn't ask for a better anchor.