Food doesn’t solve a thing…its escapism and comfort-call are but illusions. However…

I flipped off the news 40 minutes ago, adhered the headphones, and set out on a walk into the morning sun. There are horrific things going on in other locations on the planet, but here I am.  What do I do with the knowledge I have, thanks to 24-hour news? I feel empathy. I send prayers. I hope for better times and more empathetic actions from others in the future. And I realize amid the chaotic evil that has its own cyclonic power.  I still feel the presence of Light within and around me. It is real. I do more than acknowledge it. I call to it, play with it, nurture it.

My pace quickens involuntarily and I walk towards the sun. It soaks into me and increases that Light. I notice how good this feels and welcome it. A wave of beautiful fragrance has reached me. I look around for its source and see blossoms ahead. Delicate, powerful, and simple. I stop to inhale the sweetness, another reminder about what is true, what is here now. What I can be thankful for. While others suffer, it’s the best choice I can make. It’s true that others are going through horrible experiences; and it’s also true that I am feeling tremendous amounts of Love and Gratitude. I’m both cynical and realistic enough to know from loads of experience that I don’t always feel this way. There’s many a day when the Light within vanishes and I feel hopeless. All the more reason to embrace the Light while it’s so inexplicably abundant.  It is selfish in the most positive of ways because it’s something I will share with those around me. TheButterflyEffect. No matter how small its currents, they spread and spread.

May there be Peace On Earth.

Taking time to Be…