2 AM in the hospital

Eerie silence + stillness

Patients weary, needing their rest

The machines rumble a low hum while their alarms scream for no apparent reason.

(I often wonder if maybe the alarms are there solely to keep the night nurses and techs awake)

(and annoyed)

 

There is a sacredness to 2 AM in the hospital

You feel the deep sighs of patients trying to heal

Their dreams must revolve around how they will talk their way to a discharge the next morning.

Freedom to return to their own beds and kitchens and bathrooms and routines

 

In the calm of 2 AM in the hospital

The broken healthcare system even seems okay for a moment

 

I stand at a window, staring out at the darkness beyond.

I ask for strength as eyelids have become heavy.

I give thanks for this moment, 2 AM in the hospital

 

[Selfish Stanza]

I am soooo tired.

I see that ER room #7 is empty. Would anyone notice if I snuck in and just laid down for a few?

I wish I were a coffee drinker right now.

Where did I go wrong in life 

that here I am at 

2 AM in the hospital?

Yerba Mansa Wonderland

as I scuttle along the Bosque trail,

east of the river,

south of the city,

the noise and distraction of life and Cesar Chavez Blvd recede.

 

my          bigness becomes smallness

               beneath

               grandmother and grandfather Cottonwoods.

the           river hums away

    carrying away all that does not serve

    a constant in a world of chaos.

 

suddenly, the landscape

    abruptly

    amazingly

    beautifully

    becomes a meadow of our medicinal relative, Yerba Mansa.

 

it is the Disneyland of the Bosque.

it is paradise.

it is heaven.

it is stillness.

it is abundance

it is healing.

we give thanks.

 

Yerba Mansa moves earth and takes care of stagnation, aerating the soil for other plants to grow roots.

in our bodies, it also addresses stagnation, acting as diuretic for the kidneys, as expectorant for the lungs.

Acting as energetic diuretic and spiritual expectorant as well

coaxing into motion

things that need to move on

places that need to move again

 

How and why this patch is abruptly, amazingly, beautifully there, I am not sure.

The historian’s theory: As Yerba Mansa tea was a mainstay of the Tuberculosis treatments in this desert climate that promised to heal those with the disease, maybe it was planted by hands human.

The biologist’s theory: Water table below is quite shallow at this spot, with enough shade from Cottonwoods above.

My response: I have no idea “how” it came to be, and am not too worried about finding the answer. I am very much excited by the question of “how” this Yerba Mansa patch brings me and all who visit its embrace to a place beautiful.

It lovingly reminds us to care for the earth that it (and all of us) need to grow, to protect the water that feeds it and all of us.

we give thanks.

scuttling further south after basking in Yerba Mansa,

suddenly, the landscape

abruptly

amazingly

beautifully

returns to the Bosque normal, not a single Yerba Mansa plant to be found.

here, I find that my heart gives thanks the loudest.

 

Directions for those who wish to visit for themselves: Park at National Hispanic Cultural Center and enter the Bosque, heading south. The Yerba Mansa patch is 0.75 miles south of Cesar Chavez Blvd. You cannot miss it. Peak bloom (early to middle of June), but like Disneyland, it is magical 365 days a year. Pro tip #1 – bring friends/family, as it will enhance the experience. Pro tip #2 - rub your hands in the soil right at the stalk of the plant to get the oils from the plant. Pro tip #3 - let gratitude overwhelm you.

The Journey Continues

As I get ready to release the 2^nd Writing to Heal book this Saturday, I think back to where it all began.

A few of you may remember emails with a word document attached in the first weeks of the pandemic. “A Gratitude Perspective on Coronavirus”, a piece inspired by my oldest daughter, began the Writing to Heal Journey. I felt that words were needed in a moment where COVID left us all speechless. I trusted that I could heal myself through those words. I trusted that as I healed myself, I could bring others along for the journey as well.

From word documents, it became a blog. And with the blog, a community.

And from the blog, a book emerged in 2022.

That one was focused on healing from the pandemic. COVID was a co-author of sorts, providing the impetus for me to write, providing the gaping hole in our lives from which healing was needed.

This time around, Writing to Heal: The Journey Continues is about re-emergence. It is about the next stage of life and healing that follows a traumatic period. Journeys are filled with valleys and peaks. Struggles alongside triumph. It is not that we re-emerge from the pandemic with an easier life, but that we re-emerge with a sense that we have learned something about the life journey from what we have endured.

A little about the book.

It is a collection of art, poetry, and reflections on social justice, movement, and nature. My children each have pieces in this one.

I hope it will feed and nourish those who peek into its pages.

We also recorded an audio version of the book, with a link to this in the book itself. We plan to release it as an audiobook on Kindle and other platforms this fall.

As we head into the holiday weekend, the journey continues. May we continue our re-emergence journey with joy and resilience, guided by love and gratitude.

I look forward to seeing you at one of the book launch events this next week!