A few years ago there was a shooting that shocked the otherwise calm & relatively safe haven of Salt Lake City. The once lovely, historic Trolley Square became a graveyard. The joojoo there quickly fell dark. Vendors packed up and moved on. The square became a baron well of nothingness, a mere shadow of it's former glory. Then came a renaissance...a resurrection, if you will!
For those who are looking, there have been many examples of this recently. I was swept up in the love and camaraderie as I drove across the country from Washington DC to Salt Lake City just days after 9/11. A friend reported that there was an epic sense of joie de vivre and a powerful-yet-gentle & loving sense of civic duty as she arrived in Egypt after the fall of government. Two days ago I received an e-mail forward from a woman in Japan that describes her experience as surreal. Though earthquakes were still coming every 15 minutes, people were thankful for their blessings. Those with food are sharing, those with running water are filling buckets for their neighbors. There hasn't been any looting in here areas...
When I express great joy in my body over something like the opening of the Whole Foods Market superstore at Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, it has nothing to do with commercialism and everything to do with the possibilities of ALIVENESS THRIVING FROM A PLACE WHERE A DEEP PAIN COULD HAVE EASILY TAKE HOLD TO RUIN. Yesterday (and still today) I CELEBRATE the irony of two friends who have recently experienced despair like no other, who chose LIFE, eating in brilliant colorful surroundings of fragrant fresh flowers, gorgeous, local organic food that would feed and nourish our effervescent souls even more as we continue to ride life's awesome waves. In the words of my resilient aunt, Phyllis, I loudly count myself & proclaim that I am still, haha, AMONG THE LIVING!
No comments:
Post a Comment