“Presence, Presents”

Day 276, #2025bigyearproject

Terrain may be unchanged for centuries or change in one breath. Tiny water drops may carve away a block of granite.

I have watched a stern face transformed by an avalanche of a smile. I have felt my lips tremble and had tears break past steely resolve.

My grandmother spent days and weeks tatting a white, rose-patterned cover for my dorm bed. Her hands would move with rhythmic movements as she created the intricate pattern. Simple white cotton thread became three-dimensional blooms. Lamps would make a soft puddle of light around her chair. Her concentration was unmoved despite attendant noise and drama. If she made a mistake, she gently unraveled her work until it could be mended. When she finished, I had an heirloom that has lasted almost five decades. I appreciate the love she wove into every stitch.

Some landmarks are seemingly immovable. The citizens of Pompeii had enough time to build a city, raise many generations under one roof, and prosper before their beautiful mountain guardian erupted. Within minutes, everything they had known was lost, smothered by a blanket of fire and ash.

There are people who were my pillars. I thought they would accompany me forever. Many are now stars in my sky, shining when skies are darkest.

We affect every soul we encounter, whether our impact is as light as a soft breeze or as cataclysmic as a tornado. Often we cannot determine how they react to our presence. We are one of the forces that carve their landscapes.

Walk with care. Act with integrity. Respond with compassion. Heal with respect. Laugh with no limits.

Let us share a few soft, comforting blankets.

#2025bigyearproject