I am a sticher as well. Thank you for all you do and for bravely living out your calling. Sharing your heart has encouraged me that I am not alone. I am remembering that there are soooo many other stitchers, and I will look for them. We need one another in this violent and harsh world.
I’ve been up all night with an ill pet, watching the light change, losing hope. And then this arrived and I was reminded: Padraig, and John Paul. Able to breathe again, but just barely. 🙏🏻
Looking into the Sum of All Fears landscape we see these days, it is so good to find you planning for a hopeful 2025. It makes me feel that same hope you've conveyed and know it will lead you to many good things. Praying for you, and about you.
Krista, Krista. Oh happy birthday year and all you have shared with us this morning. But the bells of Plum Village? Oh dear. What a gift you give us, and they, all of the Plum Village Band and your sharing with us this heart opening music. I didn't realize just how closed in I have become in these days, holding off tears. Thank you for your note. Your travels. Your presence here. Many thanks, sbb
"For this is the only thing we can know for sure: On the day after this election, whoever wins, my country will be as fractured as the day before." Perhaps true abut the fracturing. .. but certainly not true about the days ahead and the way forward. Who wins will make all the difference in the world!
I'm very interested in the event with Jason Reynolds. When I go to the RSVP page, it looks like it's an in person only event. Will it be broadcast? I'd love to listen in and am on the West Coast, so am uncertain whether to RSVP, unless I know it will be offered as a broadcast event.
Krista, thank you for your beautiful letter today, your commitment to the world beyond; many of us, I'm sure are joining you there, working in our own ways toward that more tender future we hold in our hearts.
Thank you, Krista for these thoughts and words at this, yet another, critical time. Many times in this past week, I have kept and pondered the phrase "stitching what lies beyond" and about taking the long view - and that has helped me to regain some equilibrium and hope. I need a different way of coping now in order to not get pulled into the vortex of outrage, anger, shock, and horror that bombards us daily in the news. I need to figure out how best to live into these times ahead. I am deciding to try to stay close and connected to wisdom teachers and teachings - from the past and present. I think you hold and convey to us many wisdom teachings. Thank you so much.
Dear Krista, For many reasons, I imagine, reading this newsletter brought me to tears. Mostly, I think, tears of relief and gratitude for the many, many conversations you have brought forth over the years that have allowed me to feel seen from the inside out, and that bring a different story and timeline than the other voices I hear "making sense" of the world. These days, in our world inundated with pain and crisis, I find I am most moved by small and tender moments, like the meeting you described. And what a relief it is to feel moved, instead of numb. Thank you, thank you <3
Stitching, as you put it, is as old as can be. Just this morning I was writing about it, and I translated the advice to seek harmony instead of conformity (Confucius) and the observation that a true friend is revealed in uncertain times (Ennius).
Thanks for your work. It takes some effort to stop looking in the lake and your own reflection, but I keep Ursula Le Guin's Tao Te Ching on my desk to keep life in perspective. Plus her translation is fun to read.
Keep getting outside. We're animals who are inside 95% and then wonder why the world is nutty. That's nutty, buddy! Here's my church and steeple:
I am a sticher as well. Thank you for all you do and for bravely living out your calling. Sharing your heart has encouraged me that I am not alone. I am remembering that there are soooo many other stitchers, and I will look for them. We need one another in this violent and harsh world.
I’ve been up all night with an ill pet, watching the light change, losing hope. And then this arrived and I was reminded: Padraig, and John Paul. Able to breathe again, but just barely. 🙏🏻
I’ve gone through these nights and days with my beloved pets. Sending hugs and prayers your way. ❤️🩹
Poem about stitching together. Thanks for the wonderful ‘stitching’ you & the On Being team does.
Threads
Life sustained by
tenuous threads
we dangle swinging
from birth to death
Lands where poverty
drapes heavily
threads woven into nooses
threaten to hang
Failed crops, drought,
floods, infections weave
miasmas through bodies
no antibiotics
to snip the threads
Nations slowly failing
dilemmas too vast
to enter the eye of the needle
to be sewn back together
Lands of plenty stitch
safety nets to catch
the old, young and poor
fabric loosely woven
they slip through holes
Depression, loneliness
loss of hope, anxious
souls wrestle through
nights webbed with traps
of disturbed dreams
Where are the knitters
twisting, twining threads
into ropes to pull neighbors
to safety?
Where are the knitters weaving
blankets of care and help
to wrap our world
in love and hope?
Where are the knitters
creating dream catchers
to protect dark nights so
our world can sleep in peace?
Soft sounds of needles clicking
can be heard beneath the din.
Desperate weavers work to
stitch the holes, fill the breaches.
A cacophony of knitters is needed
to mend our world.
Suzy Lawrence 2019
Oh, my goodness, what a stunning poem. Thank you so much for sharing it here? May I repost?
Certainly- poetry is for sharing
This is a most hopeful message from you, Krista.
Looking into the Sum of All Fears landscape we see these days, it is so good to find you planning for a hopeful 2025. It makes me feel that same hope you've conveyed and know it will lead you to many good things. Praying for you, and about you.
Krista, Krista. Oh happy birthday year and all you have shared with us this morning. But the bells of Plum Village? Oh dear. What a gift you give us, and they, all of the Plum Village Band and your sharing with us this heart opening music. I didn't realize just how closed in I have become in these days, holding off tears. Thank you for your note. Your travels. Your presence here. Many thanks, sbb
"For this is the only thing we can know for sure: On the day after this election, whoever wins, my country will be as fractured as the day before." Perhaps true abut the fracturing. .. but certainly not true about the days ahead and the way forward. Who wins will make all the difference in the world!
I'm very interested in the event with Jason Reynolds. When I go to the RSVP page, it looks like it's an in person only event. Will it be broadcast? I'd love to listen in and am on the West Coast, so am uncertain whether to RSVP, unless I know it will be offered as a broadcast event.
Krista, thank you for your beautiful letter today, your commitment to the world beyond; many of us, I'm sure are joining you there, working in our own ways toward that more tender future we hold in our hearts.
Hi Ellen, the event will be recorded, but will not be live streamed. More details to come after the actual event. 🙏🏼
Thank you for the reminder to attend to the slow, gentle, and quiet.
Thank you — your post was my first read of the day, a gift of hope and spirt lifting. 🧡
Thank you, Krista for these thoughts and words at this, yet another, critical time. Many times in this past week, I have kept and pondered the phrase "stitching what lies beyond" and about taking the long view - and that has helped me to regain some equilibrium and hope. I need a different way of coping now in order to not get pulled into the vortex of outrage, anger, shock, and horror that bombards us daily in the news. I need to figure out how best to live into these times ahead. I am deciding to try to stay close and connected to wisdom teachers and teachings - from the past and present. I think you hold and convey to us many wisdom teachings. Thank you so much.
I ended up highlighting and screen shotting most of your essay here, Krista. So beautiful, this stitching of words for humanity. Thank you.
Dear Krista, For many reasons, I imagine, reading this newsletter brought me to tears. Mostly, I think, tears of relief and gratitude for the many, many conversations you have brought forth over the years that have allowed me to feel seen from the inside out, and that bring a different story and timeline than the other voices I hear "making sense" of the world. These days, in our world inundated with pain and crisis, I find I am most moved by small and tender moments, like the meeting you described. And what a relief it is to feel moved, instead of numb. Thank you, thank you <3
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTA!
We will still need you.
We will still feed you ...
When you're 64! (Yeah, Beatles!)
Stitching, as you put it, is as old as can be. Just this morning I was writing about it, and I translated the advice to seek harmony instead of conformity (Confucius) and the observation that a true friend is revealed in uncertain times (Ennius).
https://ancientwisdommodernlives.com/p/monday-motivation-tolerating-opinions
Thanks for your work. It takes some effort to stop looking in the lake and your own reflection, but I keep Ursula Le Guin's Tao Te Ching on my desk to keep life in perspective. Plus her translation is fun to read.
Keep getting outside. We're animals who are inside 95% and then wonder why the world is nutty. That's nutty, buddy! Here's my church and steeple:
https://www.lucascometto.com/cascadia-washington
Stitching is the perfect word for what I did all last week and in much of my life today. That phrase is a keeper.