Faith, turbulence, & poetry.

“Trust in the unfolding”

Something I have often said or encountered in fortune cookies, on Yogi tea tags, or in spiritual circles countless times.

Something about it rings true, my inner tuning fork seems to find resonance.

Yet in today’s times, when we are inundated with the unrelenting pain of the world on a 24/7 basis, trust feels hard to find when the unfolding is seemingly wrought with inevitable pain suffered by innocent people.

In this context, I think the word “Trust” can be used interchangeably with “Have faith” in the unfolding.

Faith is a word I have always had a complex relationship with.

I never bought in to the idea of a capital G - o - d, nor the imagery surrounding it… a bearded, elderly, all-knowing white man in the sky who watches on as children suffer at the hands of an unhinged humanity.

I associated it with Western religion, with blind acceptance, and lack of inquiry.

But as I get older, I appreciate — and am equally perplexed by— those who do move through the world with unrelenting Faith.

Whether that faith is in capital G-o-d, in the great spirit that connects us all, or in just plain old humanity.

In my own ways, the last few years have been a return to Faith for me.

Learning how to trust in many dimensions.

To witness, hold space, and love in place of judgment.

And to couple Faith with inspired action grounded in conviction, compassion, & equanimity.

Yet, the Faith I walk through the world with is one that is rife with contradictions.

As composer Carl Orff puts it in my favorite choral piece of all time, Carmina Burana: “totus floreo, totus ardeo”… all is flowering, all is on fire.

The wheel of life turns in necessary cycles of bloom, decay, & rebirth.

An experience can be unrelentingly shitty, but still somehow all part of the path that leads to liberation.

We are seeing that right now as things are seemingly falling apart all around us.

Intense global conflicts, climate chaos, the rise of ethno-nationalism, atrocities committed against civilians, corporate hegemony, & the pandemic of apathy.

As Valarie Kaur puts it: “What if this darkness is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb?”

The pain we are experiencing now is very real, it is visceral, and perhaps, it is the gateway to the creation of new life.

Clearly what has been is no longer working. Systems that uphold injustice, harm, & extraction cannot survive in the world that is emerging.

In order to become fertile soil for what is to come, what is no longer serving must be composted.

Spring will come again.

We must have Faith in what is emerging.

We must lend our hands to the clay of creation and step up to the threshold as midwives for the world that is being born.

Our highest responsibility is to shape that clay and to not lose sight of our collective imagination for a brighter tomorrow in the midst of intense labor pains.

We must have Faith in what is emerging.

With all the chaos & upheaval in the world, I’ve been largely processing my feelings through poetry.

While I could get into the weeds of how we got here, the occupation of Palestine, 75 years of ongoing ethnic cleansing, my own hot takes on what is happening now, & how the wellbeing of Jewish people & Palestinians are not in opposition to one another, but rather intimately connected, I would rather share more of what’s been on my heart.

As things have continued to (d)evolve, the only writing that has come easily to me has been poetry.

Here are a few poems I wrote this past month while witnessing everything unfold from an ocean away:

How have you been processing in the times we are living in?

Links to take action:

• Hotline to call members of US House & Senate to demand a ceasefire: (202) 224-3121

• Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund Donation link

• Learn more about the If Not Now Movement & Jewish Voices for Peace

• Link of other actions to take 

Hugs & love to you. Thank you for reading. Blessings to you & your loved ones this New Moon.