"Water flows from high in the mountains. Water runs deep in the Earth. Miraculously water comes to us, and sustains all life." Thich Nhat Hanh

These days I am looking for what sustains. There are so many words flying around in the airwaves, so much rhetoric of hate and mean spiritedness, that I am looking underneath rocks and couch cushions for what it is that can sustain my spirit, my hope. I have been in the presence of those who have been tossed about by the circumstances of the world in ways that has drowned their internal self-respect. I listen to the nightly news and hear words that cut to the depths of our collective hearts. What to do? What to do?

A friend who has one of the kindest hearts I know said that last week he simply needed to go to the river. To go to the river and sit and watch its gentle power as it makes its way to the ocean."All rivers whether they flow east or west, have arisen from the sea and return to the sea." said Meister Eckhart, the medieval mystic. The river flows, always in connection to where it came from and where it will return. For me, there is such kindness and hope in that image. The river flowing out of the sea and back again reminds me of all the ways I am connected to the greater world and it is an important thing to remember when human words are being carefully crafted to tear us apart and make us believe otherwise.

Each day I have the blessing of crossing the Mississippi River at least 2 or 3 times. The concrete and steel that holds me above this mighty body of water can make me feel separate from its waters.But in truth, I am not.  Over the next days I, too, want to go to the river even if it is by way of a bridge. I want to remember the deep and spiritual ways I am connected to all that is. I want to hold on tight to that wisdom and not let the voices that screech pull me in other directions. I want to be reminded what really sustains and drink deeply from it.