A couple of years ago, our chamber group did a Shaker piece called “In Meeting We Are Blessed,” and the words echo lately. It’s a song about confluences, about coming together from our various shores and commingling. It’s also about choices to retain connections when our pathways diverge. It reminds me of rivers. We don’t actually have a ton of river confluences in my area – they’re mostly much further north, where the Sacramento River blends with the Auburn, tidal creeks surging up north of Redding, etc. We’re just not big on rivers here so close to the Bay, but if you’re out on the water you can see bay confluences, too. It’s always a little messy, these waters coming together – a lot of ripples, a bit of silt. Coming together is never…neat. And yet, it’s part of flowing into the ocean.
Over and over the message I’ve heard and passed these last few weeks has been about community. About connection. About coming together, making space, offering resource exchange, and staying together. Holding on.
in meeting
turbulence jostles
waves churn in the wider world
that makes up the sea