Dandelion Seeds

Words delight me.

I love the way they can be arranged to express a feeling or a thought with precision, or evoke a burst of unexpected laughter. Words are how I make sense of my experience, both inwardly and outwardly. I journal. I tell stories,in my everyday conversation and in my writing. I love to play with arranging them on the page, combining them and reorganizing them to express as precisely as I can what I am thinking or feeling.There is rarely a moment when there are not words in my brain.

Almost always, there is a single word that hovers around the periphery of my awareness, sometimes leaping to centre stage, then retreating to the edges again. I’ve learned to let that individual word keep me company, colouring my experiences and my perceptions, and often bringing new insights.

We are currently in the throes of an election campaign here in Canada. I am noticing how words are being weaponized. Words or phrases that, a month ago, seemed neutral are now loaded with hidden meaning. Words are being used to encourage us to see invisible threat around every corner, and divisions among ourselves as people living in a varied yet loosely cohesive society. I am feeling weighted down by words.

One of my beloved mentors loved etymology, and encouraged us to look at words and phrases in new ways. It is still delightful to me to look up the origins of a word I think I understand, and discover surprising layers of meaning. He loved to invite us to consider again the common, and  often over-used, phrase, “Pay attention!” reminding us again and again that giving my attention to something carries a cost. When I am “paying” that cost with my attention, I need to  be sure that what I’m attending to is worth my energy.

How easy it is for me to “give away” my attention on things that don’t return value to me in terms of inner peace, nervous system regulation, and soul growth. Election slogans and media hot takes hijack my precious energy even before I realize what has happened. The cacophony of these mesmerizing yet depleting words often drowns out the truth and joy and goodness to which I want to remain connected.

Whether for good or for ill, that to which I give attention grows in my awareness. A vicious turn of phrase by a political candidate heightens my awareness of unkindness and lies. By contrast, these words by poet Amanda Gorman lift my spirit and drawn my attention to acts of courage and kindness.

“There is Light, if only we are brave enough to be it.”

As a way of reminding myself of the words that nourish me, that return value to me for the attention I’m paying, I post on social media almost daily a quote from a writer or poet who helps me remember my own Truth. @soulquestservices  I’m also working on a series of blog posts focussing on some of the words that have been companions to me of late, words like resistance, belonging, and urgency vs meaning.

As with every blog post I write, I offer these reflections and stories from my life like dandelion seeds in the wind.  I don’t know how far they’ll go or where they’ll land, but I trust that once in while, one will sprout somewhere and provide beauty and nourishment for someone who reads it. I want to be part of the slow and gentle that takes root amidst the loud and chaotic, that helps each of us remember our own strength, wisdom, and resilience. I hope you’ll continue the journey with me.