As president of the National Honors Society at her school, she is scheduled to speak on October 15th. Though I believe it is important to be with and in the moment, it is also important to have a goal. "Our" goal is that she can give her speech, even if she is in a wheelchair to do it.
Big breath. I can feel my breath returning to the lower part of my body. I hadn't realized how much I was holding my breath, how scared I was. Now, I feel the waves in the pond below the waist.
A friend of mine is a member of the Sufi community. Years ago, some Sufi leaders drove by San Quentin and were disturbed by the misery gathered there. They organized a visit of Sufi's and were allowed into San Quentin to chant with the men in the choir. My friend went and said it was an amazing experience. Usually I have difficulty passing by San Quentin because I feel the suffering there, but a few days ago I was looking across the bay at it, and in my own misery and concern over Katy, could see it differently. I was in pain. People there are in pain, but others have "found" Christ, or Buddhism, or Sufism, or an inner strength. I can't know what it is for the individuals there, for those imprisoned and for those who "guard" them. I can only know that for awhile I was imprisoned in my own misery and pain.
There is an article in the CSM on Lynn Zwerling, who started a knitting group for male inmates in the Jessup Pre-Release Unit in Jessup, MD. At this point 254 men have passed through the Knitting Behind Bars program. Its annual budget is $350.00 which Zwerling and fellow volunteers raise selling yarn-ball necklaces at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Cavalry.com, a social network for knitters also contributes. Knitting, for these men, is a path to tranquility and connection, and keeping warm, literally and figuratively. I like it.
It is a beautiful fall day here, and I know that everyday is a day for gratitude, but, oh, this one is sweet.
