 “I think you have three choices,” says my wise friend when I ask him how he stays joyful in this world on the brink. “You can live in ignorance,” (Been there, done that.) “You can live in despair,” (Got the t-shirt.) “Or you can live in hope.” Well, that sounds good, let’s do that, I say. But it’s not so simple, is it? Hope, says Emily Dickinson, is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all. Great, Em, says I, but how do you get the feathered thing to stay with you? That’s what I’m wondering today as I sit on my deck in the cool morning and listen to the birds. I can’t see them all, but I know they’re there. I hear that beautiful chorus. I want them to feel safe in my yard, to want to visit me, so I sit quietly with my heart open and ready. I silently invite these feathered beings to be with me today. And I will invite them again tomorrow. And when the rains come and their song is harder to hear, I will just have to trust that they are still out there and invite them over and over, and never stop at all.
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