The Winds
The sky will be clear once the light comes. The winds have been howling all night and the temperature sits at 51 degrees fahrenheit. The winds of change are blowing very hard. Today is Sunday.
Yesterday, a visit to the shop that was once a gathering place for those who knew the magic of music, the fun in giving quirky gifts (not just at the holidays), and the pleasure of encountering basic goodness in a person. That was what this little shop offered the fast-changing neighborhood of West Adams in Los Angeles. Like so many hidden treasures in Los Angeles, it was the person who held this space for decades, who made this spot so special. She passed unexpectedly. Went to bed sometime between Christmas and the new year, and didn't wake up after getting her last bit of shut eye. Peaceful passing - exactly what she had coming. The shop will close this week.
A beloved barber shop in south Los Angeles is closing too. That shift is because of another reason these local gems disappear: a new owner, a new idea for how to use the space, and a new rent, for sure. Whatever ends up being there - another spa, a hip new clothing store, a head shop - who knows - it won't have the vibe of a being a place where a good hair cut, shave, and real conversation can be had. In the midst of a lot of change in this town, another local safe space will disappear and whatever comes next will hopefully be another kind of blessing on this community. Chances are small, but why not hope for the best.
The winds are blowing hard today.
One can feel the changes like these local one; and other, bigger, perhaps momentous changes can also be felt. There are war preparations happening in several spots around the planet. It's obvious, but no one talks about it. In this time of proxy wars and conflicts taking place to test the capacity of potential adversaries, it is most important to notice and see if there can be lessons drawn from prior worldwide conflicts. World War II was a horrible human tragedy, which also brought forth clear examples of suffering unlike anything that existed before. And the long tail of that suffering continues to this day because of choices made about how the spoils of war should be divided, and control over the choices made continue to reside in the hands of those who put their thumb on the scale for how those spoils ended up being divided.
Can we give peace a chance? It seems peace is the only sensible thing to pursue in these times. Capacity for destruction and more suffering is readily accessible for anyone who can see beyond the rhetoric of patriotism, nationalism, and manipulation of fear. So can the intelligences and ancestors guide the world away from that path of self-implosion?
Some say "Yes!" We can move in a new way because the current conditions are different from the past in that more people are recognizing the collective risks being faced by all of humanity. This is a time when peace for many is top of mind, it is a condition that is deeply understood as more than a world without conflict, and it is recognized as the only viable path for humanity to take. All actions that are taken, no matter what role one plays - leader of community, leader of country, artist, writer, musician, organizer, healer, futurist, and more – are working in the backstage of the theater - this time there may be a chance for peace. May it be so.