Monday, May 29, 2017 - Daily Notes, From the Editor
(472 words)
Amanda married Joe on Saturday.
My sweetheart came with me to the wedding, which was billed as a "spring party" so many guests arrived not knowing they were about to become witnesses, accomplices, protectors, defenders and partners in celebration of the bond we humans seek to forge with our chosen one by exchanging nuptial promises and sealing them with a kiss.
"Will you?" the officiant asked us all, as my friend and her chosen one stood hand in hand. A pair of eagles circled the sky above as if to place a subtle exclamation point on the rightness of all that was unfolding in our human circle below.
We will. We will honor, defend, listen, hold space, remain curious, support, and love Amanda and Joe not only today but for as long as they both shall live.
Why? Because they belong to us. They are brave members of our tribe, which weaves into the world and reaches and touches and inspires and yes, even heals people far beyond the deck overlooking Portage Bay where they stood and said, "I do."
They belong to you. You belong to them. We all do, of course. We belong to one another.
Amanda and Joe wrote this:
“We are here together to forge bonds. No person lives their life alone. No couple lives their life alone. No family lives their life alone. We belong to each other and we must use our agency with this in mind. May our actions serve that which is bigger than ourselves. May we serve one another, may we serve our communities, may we serve humanity, may we serve the earth, may we serve the divine.””
Today, I am sipping coffee from Papua New Guinea while my bare feet rest on the warm earth in my small Seattle garden.
I had wanted to write a note this week about grounding, my word for the year, because last weekend I spent digging, planting, pulling, watering, conversing with herbs, strawberries, lavender, and weeds.
I had wanted to tell you that being barefoot on earth changes everything. How it took away my migraine, anxiety, worry, restlessness. How one day spent planting poppies and rescuing the lilies from last year made me breathe more deeply, feel my heart again, come back to who I am, and where I belong.
I had wanted to tell you how I long to belong to a patch of earth like this one I rent, which is part of why I have been so preoccupied for the past month. I placed my floating home on the market. A home that floats is beautiful and soothing and even magical, but I seem to have reached a point in my life where it is time to root further into the earth beneath me. Somehow. It is more than a metaphor.
I had wanted to tell you all of these things, but then Amanda and Joe got married. I was there and I belonged and it was truer than any note I could write.
We are of this earth, and we belong to it. We belong to one another. Like the eagles above Amanda and Joe's promises, wings wide open, we fly. We must. We must also, like those magnificent birds, come home to the earth, to ground, to each other, where we belong.
Congratulations, Amanda and Joe. May your hearts always be home. Thank you for inspiring us all to remember why we are here and that we belong.
We love you.
xo
laura
Laura Lowery is the founder, editor and publisher of Lucia. She does her best to lead a creative life. Whether triumphant or stumbling, Laura shares daily notes (that are often weekly) here on luciajournal, including stories, behind-the-scenes happenings, little doses of inspiration, and large quantities of curiosity and heart. She is pleased to meet you.