Abby and Honey Mama

Abby and I have been hearing about each other from friends in Portland for a couple of years, and today we finally met. Just as our friends predicted, it was a meeting of Like Souls. Abby and I have many stories in common: our mothers had similar mental disorders that affected us in similar ways; we reared our children as fiercely independent single mothers; our financial situations are much the same (we never made much money and spent or gave away all we had); our Buddhist teachers, and even our Buddhist aspirations are similar. (I planned on being a Buddhist nun; she really is one.) She was a dancer, I was an actor, we both practice deep listening. We’ve read many of the same books, and we love to read. Politics for us means defending what we love, persistently being a force for justice. We met and talked about it all, laughing and connecting, swimming in gratitude for each other’s understanding. “When in doubt,” she says, “love more.” The scene stealer in her lap is Honey Mama, her Havanese companion.

I leave you with this beautiful reminder of the value of persistence and loving more, from my friend Alberto Moreno, who describes walking up the worn steps of an old church and seeing how the sandaled feet of his grandfather had worn down the stairs: “I understood the value of presence over time. The value of persistence. And how soft flesh can rub, over time, against the hard, impenetrable surfaces in our lives.” The full article is here.