Choosing Heart and Risking Vulnerability

I am the river and the river is me. — Maori saying

“Do I contradict myself? Very well, then. I am large. I contain multitudes.”  — Walt Whitman

There are many paths through this time of drowning whirlpools and confusing currents, through this time of turbulence we are in. They do not all, however, lead to the same end.
The path I choose is this:
It is to know the body of the earth…
her body is my body, as is my body hers.
Her waters are the waters of this flesh I inhabit. Her forests too, they are no less ‘my lungs’ than those encapsulated by this corporal body, holding now pen and paper.
The soils of the earth are likewise flesh of this flesh and the respect and honor I give to her air is the respect and honor I offer Spirit and the Mystery of my source too.
Moon and sun and other stars and solar systems and galaxies and nebula are celestial invitations into this Mystery of Being itself, into wonder and awe. The diminishment of their vividness in our night sky is the numbing of these primal forces in our children.
And the children of this earth, be they red or Islamic or Christian or brown…, be they human or plant, animal or fungus, bacteria or virus… we are relatives. Family. And while it is true you may choose not to spend your favorite holiday dinner with certain of your relatives, to deny their relationship is to deny the flesh and lineage of one’s presence; it is to be self-severed from the Tree of Life.
Yes. There are many paths leading into this time of turbulence we are in. Their legion live within me as potentialities of being, yet they do not all pass through and risk the vulnerabilities of my heart.
This is the path I choose — the heart’s love of life. It is, for me, the path leading to whatever re-storation I have experienced in life, to wholeness and to healing and wellness, to the wild joy of celebrating the Oneness of all that is. It is to celebrate too the marvel of being one inseparable individual-self.
Tell me, is there another path leading to this thrivability, to such belonging and joy as this?
What is the path of your choosing?

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action-and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly.” – Martha Graham