“…Grace is asymmetric, parabolic, skewed to love, Immanent and absolute, but also unpredictable As quantum particles…”
— Orlando Ricardo Menes
Jane, my wife, happened to capture this moment of companionship with our rescue dog, Camino, and our rescue cat, Loki. We’ve had Camino for over a year now, and she’s settled in nicely. But it took some serious time and effort. And Loki, who we rescued as a kitten many years ago from the Human Society, wasn’t helpful. He was resolutely offended and angry that we brought this stray girl into our home. HIS home and he constantly made his resentment known. Loki would hiss, growl, and swat at Camino whenever she got remotely close. But now, Loki looks for opportunities to cuddle with Camino. And even put his paw on hers. If only our two political parties could come to such a place of grace. If only all of us could. If only I could.
That quote above about Grace is from a poem printed on a Christmas card given to us by Erika and Shipley Munson. I think it gorgeous and profound. I want to share it with you:
Grace
By Orlando Ricardo Menes
We cannot buy it in bulk at Trader Joe’s,
Swap it for gold, or hoard shares of Grace, Inc.,
To hedge against bad luck. We acquire it
Without contract, promissory notes, or IOUs,
Neither codicils nor fine print. We gather
Grace safe from litigation or severance,
And though we might breach the strictures of creed,
It cannot be forfeited or suspended. Rather,
Grace is asymmetric, parabolic, skewed to love,
Immanent and absolute, but also unpredictable A
s quantum particles, both here and there,
Both full and empty, so it might arrive
Inopportunely and thus slip under hope,
Upsetting the earnest prayer, teasing our faith,
Like some rain bands, copious cumul,
That appear astray, unbidden, in stagnant skies
To drench at last the drought-scourged earth.
Here are three books I recently listened to in about as many months that moved me deeply. I’m hoping you will also listen to/read them and then tell me if they moved you.
One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow, A novel by Oliva Hawker (Recommended by Jane as one of her favorites.)
“If they could open their hands and release the old guide ropes to which they had always clung—anger and timidity, lonesomeness and fear, judgment and the fear of being judged—they would free their spirits to seek and find a new way of being, new eyes through which to see.”
Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration, Sara Dykman. (Winner of the 2021 National Outdoor Book Award.)
“Knowledge is the only sword that can cut through harm being done in ignorance.”
The Warsaw Orphan, historical fiction by Kelly Rimmer (New York Times bestseller)
“The human spirit is a miraculous thing. It is the strongest part of us—crushed under pressure, but rarely broken. Trapped within our weak and fallible bodies, but never contained.”
There are so many gifts of grace that move me—thought-provoking engaging books, gorgeous poetry that gets to the point, pets that we love and are loved by, (and eventually love each other!), friends, family, and spouses who are an indispensable part of what we’ve become and are becoming. And of course our ever expanding-awe-inspiring galaxy—containing the delightful and diverse creations inhabiting our little pale blue dot that we call home.
May this year move us all to be our best by letting Grace work its miracles through us.
