Shelter in Place, San Francisco, October 20, 2020

The days have cooled off and the sky is finally, finally blue - time to get out there and do some remedial work in the garden. As we worked on cutting back the hydrangea this afternoon, I saw from the corner of my eye a light on the Ammonium that made the succulent seem to glow.

In the Quaker tradition, we ‘hold in the light’ people who are suffering any kind of difficulty. I love that phrase. It is so easy to imagine light streaming from my heart to the ones I love, the ones I worry about, the ones going through a trial. Today I am holding our entire country in the light, hoping that we can make it through the next few weeks with minimum trauma, discord, and fear. I want my country back, I want a return to civility and rule of law. I want us to feed the millions who’ve lost their jobs to the virus. And I don’t want any more to die even as the pandemic is gearing up to hit us once again. On a more personal level, I am holding dear folks close to me in the light as they quarantine after a close encounter. May the wait be short, may this be a false alarm, and may they feel the light from those of us who love them.