What is right here?

Melissa and Eddie at his art studio in NE Minneapolis. Photo by Chris Tripolino.

Yesterday I got to sit with Eddie Hamilton in his art studio. We talked about his choice to stop using alcohol because he had recognized it as a barrier to Life Worth Living.

Eddie’s ability to notice and name the things that were off when things may have seemed okay on the surface was a game-changer for him. Sometimes things are not okay and we are hit in the face with it. Like all of us, right now. My son Peter referred to the Coronavirus as I tucked him in last night as “the virus that is harassing humanity.”

Whether we make a point of noticing it or just get hit with it, it is a moment to hold with our best attention.  To be as brave and humble as we can and ask: 

What is right here?

What IS right here? 

Notice what is going on. Name it. Step back, take a breath and notice what’s going on inside and name again. Attend to the hard stuff and the hurting places with compassion and honesty, not judgment. Attend to the good things too. The beauty, strength and resources that you do have - both in you and around you.

What is RIGHT here? These are the things we need to remind each other of and be for each other. Kind things. Beautiful things. Here are a few of mine today:

• The grace of a friend reminding me who I am when I’ve forgotten. You know who you are. All of you. Thank you.

• Music and books like The Phantom Tollbooth. Reading aloud with Peter recently I realized it is hilariously and quite literally about how we miss Life Worth Living, what gets in the way and how to find our way back.

• My cat, Milo. And the way he loves it when Peter drags him around the house on a “magic carpet ride.”

• The patient, steady kindness of the Health Partners nurse on the phone. And now I am starting to see it everywhere. The South High Teacher who is figuring out how to host an impromptu food pantry while MPS figures out the longer term solution...and inviting her students to both contribute to it and use it. The bus drivers doing their work. The neighbors calling a sidewalk meeting to talk about what people need and how we can stay connected.

What is right HERE? This is what you CAN do. Even when so much is out of your control.

What is right here for you right now?