Embodied Love

Considering Democracy and My Dog

Hello from the land of Lilly.

It’s a joyful place, where a day is not complete with at least one intense game of fetch.

And once begun, it is hard to stop…

More, Mom…Please?

Yesterday, when on an exhausting snow-shoe behind our house, it hit me.

The land of Lilly is really just another way of thinking about living in a democracy - - it is lively, demanding and persistent…and necessitates constant attention…

and there are times when she drives me crazy, like when she’s not running for a stick, but just running…or pestering…or bomping when I’m trying to tie my shoes, and I just want her to go away.

Sometimes I say “Here Lilly, come back” and she ignores me or “Not now,” and she persists - - clearly a mind of her own.

But when she gets that stick and runs to catch up with me and then drops the stick right at my feet, all is forgiven. At that moment, who can resist her?

That, it seems, is what it feels like right now. Our country’s leadership may be aggressively dismantling one part of our government after another, but there is something fundamental about the essence of who we are as a nation that begs attention.

“Can’t you see it? I know, it’s fallen into the snow and you’re going to have to reach down to get it, but it’s there. The stick. I’m ready. Please. Just play with me.”

And that’s the thing. While a few angry people might strive to undermine our individual power, our power is still there - - this is still the United (emphasis on United) States and we still call ourselves a democracy.

Our job, though, is to play with it, to engage, to lean into her and continue the game, even if our arms are tired…

because there is more joy and love than anger out there. We just need to see it, cultivate it and care for it…

“I got it!! ” she yelps, using her boundless energy to leap through the snow.

And there is more energy among us than we realize…we just need to be clear:

“We’ve got this.”

Thank you, as always, for sharing your time and this space with me.

With cheers and gratitude for you being you,

Lyn

PS: I also think democracy is like compost - - layered, smelly AND beautiful.¹

Please share the beauty,

support the joy embodied in the beauty,

and be the beauty that is embodied in Lilly’s love.

1. Here’s the real deal: Lilly’s spirit may embody the spirit of democracy, but she’s also a bit of a loner, preferring her human companions to others; That’s where compost comes in - - compost is all about the many, not the few, the mixing and mingling, not the isolation.

But I need Lilly’s physicality in addition to the visual pleasure found in the compost bucket, don’t you? Because there’s always a give and take between the individual and the group, action and simmering - neither is better than the other, they are different but by default depend on each other.

I digress, but that’s what’s happening these days - - Processing, searching, and finding joy in everyday micro-moments.