Dearly Beloved,
As I am away on retreat this week, I want to share the end of adrienne maree brown's poem "not busy, focused; not busy, full" with you
I hope to never be busy again
I owe this quiet breath to my grandmother
I am creating at an astounding rate
and some of it I even write down
some moments I get so still
I can sense how it is all connected
and that the tissue is love
and I know my love could never be wasted
or too small a contribution
I say yes when love leads
I say yes when there’s enough time to do it well
and sometimes even then I am not there
because life showed me another way to love
and it was irresistible
You can read the poem in its entirety HERE.
What would happen if we engaged with our lives and our times out of a sense of fullness, out of a sense of focus instead of a sense of busyness? What if we gave ourselves permission to say no so that our yeses could be made when we are led by love, when there's enough time to do it well?
I have found myself working to reorient myself to time in this way. I must admit that social media makes it hard: I get lost and then I am rushing. I must admit that sometimes I do not use my time as love leads me but as ease, convenience and inattention lead.
I hope that as we enter into summer, we can think about rest, about focus, about fullness as antidotes to busyness. Are there ways we can spend our time differently? Can we think differently about the tasks that require doing (dishes, cleaning, grocery shopping, paying bills, preparing and enjoying food)? Are there things that we think are required of us but that are not actually as urgent as we think?
How are you connected to your ancestors? The saints? So great a cloud of witnesses? Can you feel that the connective tissue is indeed love? That which holds it all together?
May you know in your heart of hearts that your love can never be wasted. It will never be too small a contribution. And may your yeses exist in those spaces where love leads.
In love, hope, and quiet,
Thandiwe
p.s. Sunday is Mother's Day. You are invited to bring a photograph of your mother figure(s) to place on our communion table during worship. We will hold space to celebrate with you and also to acknowledge and hold tenderly with you that Mother's Day may be complicated for you.
