Exhausted but Joyful

It is almost Friday and I am so. wiped. out. I can't tell if it is because this week has been so hectic or because I know that next week is going to be even more intense (including several day-long trainings, an evening fundraiser, and a solo 8-hour round trip drive for work in the span of 24 hours).

Fortunately I think it is one of those days that I can/must forgo my evening to do list in order to rest and restore myself for what is still coming. Also fortunate is that there is so much to be thankful for; this weekend is SB's 30th birthday, so we've got lots of fun party plans with friends and family. I am also on the verge of finishing a lap quilt for my professional mentor; he and his wife have been so generous with SB and I and when they have us over for dinner later this month I plan to surprise them with the quilt. Can't wait.

Another positive note is that SB recently bought the "Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis" record, which is one of my favorite new records. It is a live recording of a concert of great folk and Americana music sung by more modern artists like Gillian Welch, Jack White, Punch Brothers, Willie Watson, Marcus Mumford, Oscar Isaac, Rhiannon Giddens, and the Avett Brothers. Some classic folks artists are also featured, like Joan Baez and Bob Neuwirth.

Two of my favorite songs from the album are "The Midnight Special" and "That's How I Got to Memphis." Enjoy!

Wowza

Mary Oliver strikes again! My soul, that is. What a woman. This is from her 2014 collection.



THE FOURTH SIGN OF THE ZODIAC (PART 3)

I know, you never intended to be in this world.
But you’re in it all the same.


So why not get started immediately.


I mean, belonging to it.
There is so much to admire, to weep over.


And to write music or poems about.

Bless the feet that take you to and fro.
Bless the eyes and the listening ears.
Bless the tongue, the marvel of taste.
Bless touching.


You could live a hundred years, it’s happened.
Or not.
I am speaking from the fortunate platform
of many years,
none of which, I think, I ever wasted.
Do you need a prod?
Do you need a little darkness to get you going?
Let me be as urgent as a knife, then,
and remind you of Keats,
so single of purpose and thinking, for a while,
he had a lifetime.

Doesn't it just fill you up? Poetry is so restorative for me. Amazingly meditative. A few stanzas manage to slow and deepen my breathing, drop my shoulders, and remind me of my purpose in the world. To be. 

You can hear Mary Oliver read this poem here. 

Today's Challenge

Today's challenge is to...

Recently the leadership team (of 2) in my office made a decision that I feel compromises the integrity of our organization. I am very discouraged by the action and concerned about its implications, which I think will be far-reaching. The decision was made without staff input and staff feedback hasn't been solicited - more like stifled by statements like, "we'll all have a lot of feelings about this...there isn't much we can disclose about our decision...the decision has been made..."etc.

Can I show up at work every day and act as though nothing has changed? This seems to be the expectation. Am I more at risk by speaking my truth and possibly being seen as some kind of threat, or by letting my own integrity be compromised by acting complicit in a situation that I don't support? I'm inclined toward the latter, and another important question seems to be: now that the organization's leadership has broken trust and thrown out transparency, what have I got to lose by speaking up?