the starkness of truth

"The truth, the whole truth, tends to be complex, its contentments and joys wrestled out of doubt, pain, change."

-Kathleen Norris, Dakota, pg 79

a man lying passed out on the ground when it's -15 degrees outside

broken zippers on little ones' jackets, no money for new ones

bread that is shared because it may be the only meal eaten all day

a stumbling drunk wandering through the dirt paths as evening is just beginning

a sister, wife, daughter trying to get her brother, husband, father home from the bar

a visit to a friend's mom who is sick, tired, scared, crying

the sadness on a friend's face after a difficult week

the words of struggle, the prayers of those who carry more than they should


and yet still we gather, still we sit in a circle with the sun rising in the oranges and reds of the morning haze outside the window and we hope.

truth carries the weight and fragility of these realities, it shines its light on the starkness of what is, the things that hurt and sting and ache.

we dance and we sing together because if we don't....

if we don't I fear we will crumple under that which truth reveals.

truth frees us, but it also breaks us.
it makes us whole while also placing us within the dichotomy of tearing us into pieces.
it is real and that makes it beautiful.

no rose-colored glasses, no shiny mirrors that reveal ourselves as better versions of who we believe we are, no singing birds making our beds.

joy and beauty still rise up out of those trenches

some days it is more of a fight to find them, some days truth is not even-handed or fair

but it's still true.

"And what of truth? We don't tend to see the truth as something that could set us free because it means embracing pain, acknowledging our differences and conflicts, taking our real situation into account."

-Kathleen Norris, Dakota, pg 82