I’ve been sleeping lightly and dreaming… a lot. When I wake, it takes a lot of focus and deep breathing to acknowledge nagging negative thoughts for what they are — counterproductive — and push them aside. Till they come up again and I do it again. And maybe sleep.
Dreaming, I find myself amongst collaborators and friends I’m close to, or used to be closed to throughout decades of creative work, but now distanced from.
And I think my collaborators and I are here to save each other. We are in conversation to liberate and challenge each other. We are distanced to keep each other safe.
We are here to save each other. Nothing less.
But across time and without touch, my collaboration gumbo of souls are right there in my mind. Intimacy without touch, especially at this time of lockdown.
This social distancing, isolation, challenge and, above all, uncertainty could be longer than any of us had hoped. We’d all like to know when it will end, but there is far more that we don’t know than what we do. I’m sad and angry that I have lost friends. I don’t know what will happen to some very important collaborations and projects that were just about to kick off.
And believe me, I know I am one of the fortunate, with a home to try to stay safe in, and my loved ones. I wish the same for all of you. Starting up again will be gradual and I know many aspects of our life and work, even ourselves, will be changed.
I had a great time thinking about all of you writing this. Let’s try to be good to each other, at a distance for now, and take courage and resilience where we find it; For your mind, body and soul, I offer a song of courage by Rising Appalachia:
“Stand like an oak
An aspen, an alder
It’s in you, don’t falter
And if so then I got you
Fake it, walk taller
Anything that makes you feel smaller
Leave it by the angels of the water
Push em up, push em up
Put away your cares
Fold them, fold them
Fold up your fears
He said come to this river
Give me your arms
Lean back
There’s nothing to be alarmed of
He said the more I know, the more I dig
And the more I return to myself
Around every bend
Push em up, push em up
Put away your cares
Fold them, fold them
Fold up your fears
Leave them by the angels of the waters…”
Be Well
David
in walked quinn 