Above is a picture of some of our Seeds Storyteller Collective sisters just before we spoke at Regis High School for Diversity Day yesterday. What FUN we had, together, sharing stories of faith, family, and friendship.
But, sheesh … Are you feeling pressed and stressed by the clamor of news sharing stories of local and global health crises, epic political battles, and struggles to survive ’round the world – all of this amidst your own story … work, to-do’s, and support of those you love? (It’s a lot, to be sure!)
In the midst of wherever you are and however you’re feelin’, dear one, I invite you to take a beat and a breath.
Stop. Be still for a moment or two with me today. Join in on 2 PoPs (Places of Pause) and 1 simple, feel-good, and difference-making nudge to be an everyday philanthropist today. (=BEing wildly generous to others … and yourself!)
1st PoP … WATCH / LISTEN.
This song, ohhhh this song. Amidst the everyday realities of your life today – there is much likely compelling you to worry and wonder – but take a moment to just BE. Bask in the beauty of the lyrics and artistry of this piece of music about belonging, compassion, and connection.
I’ve been listening to this song on repeat for nearly a month now. It’s become a song-prayer for me for our sisters and brothers around the world who have been forced from their homes and those they hold most dear. It helps me carry these sisters and brothers in my heart and thoughts as I go about my everyday life and work.
Lyrics for “Human Kindness”
I know that there’s more to this ugly game
I see a war designed to never be tamed
I’ve slept in the rubble amongst the shame
Screaming at the bombs
This is not in my name
I’m seeking kindness
I’m longing for safety
I’m praying for home
I’m craving compassion
Searching for sanity
Praying for home
I’ve been stripped to the bone
Home Is where we can belong
Home Is where our children grow strong
Home Is where the fire burns long
Home Is where peace can come from
I’ve traveled for months,
Ran thousands of miles
I fled the land that holds the heart of my kin
And I know you now see the torn state I’m in
I can’t tell you my name or the places I’ve been
I’m seeking kindness…
Home Is where we can belong
Home Is where our children grow strong
Home Is where the fire burns long
Home Is where peace can come from
I’m praying for human kindness
I’m praying for human kindness
I’m praying for human forgiveness
I’m praying for us to all to belong
They call me a migrant
They call me a thief
They call me a beggar man
An asylum seeker
I was once a teacher
I was once a family man
I was once a dreamer
A community leader
And I’ve seen friends and family
All scattered and broken
And we don’t know why
The cruelty keeps raging
Yes I’m seeking your kindness
I’m longing for safely
I’m praying for home
I’m craving compassion
Searching for meaning
And I feel so alone
I’ve been stripped to the bone
Home Is where we can belong
Home Is where our children grow strong
Home Is where the fire burns long
Home Is where peace can come from
Home Is where peace can come from….
from The Canoe, by Carrie Tree, released April 26, 2019
I was aware of the desperation and need for volunteers and felt compelled to try and help, so I spent some time at a refugee camp in Calais [in France] and wrote it after talking to a man who had fled his war-torn country with just the clothes he was wearing. In a wider sense, the song is also about the fundamental human need for ‘home’ and the link between a sense of belonging and kindness, but this is a raw and painful struggle for so many.
In Calais I met people who had seen their homes and lands destroyed and had become separated from their families. It is history repeating itself once again. The terms ‘asylum seeker’ and ‘migrant’ are used so often, but I can feel distant when hearing them. When I saw what these people needed, it felt much more real to me than these labels. Every person has a name, a beating heart, dreams and loves. It connected me to the universal needs of every human being. -Carrie Tree, singer & song-writer
2nd PoP … READ.
Be encouraged and inspired to keep goin’ amidst the press and stress of everyday life, supported and surrounded by others as you go. Dive into this 10-minute read, “Vital Tribe” and enJOY a Place of Pause (from Soulfully Ablaze).
Your purpose on the planet—big or small in impact, local or global—is not about carving something out alone; it only happens with others. Let’s keep walking, putting one foot in front of the other, together… (Read more). -Sarah DT
GIVE: Making dreams come true: A 3-minute hug at the US-Mexico border.
Project: Through our partnership with Casa de Paz, we are raising funds to make it possible for a family who is separated geography, the border, and politics to be able to travel to meet one another at an annual event, called the 3-Minute Hug, so they can be reunited and near to each other at last. Let’s standTALL for dignity and declare with love that families deserve at least this: 3-minutes to hug and be together. (There is a $1,000 matching donor, so your donation will be doubled!) | March, 2020 Donate & learn more.
Goal: $2,000
Country: USA-Mexico
Listen to and learn more in last week’s inspiring Seeds Storyteller Series with Sarah Jackson, founder of Casa de Paz, as she shares her experience of being at the US-Mexico border for the 3-Minute Hug event last fall.
Many of you have asked, so here’s my health update: Last Friday, I went in to see my cardiologist who read the heart monitor I’d been wearing for a week. Happily, all looks good with my heart. (Woot wooot!) Still not feeling quite right or fully healthy, so I’m looping in with my doctor to check in and make sure all looks good as I make my way each day, praying to feel wholly well soon.
Two great blessings from this season of feeling unwell have been a clear nudge to move a bit more slowly, creating a bit more space in my passionate life’s work, and having received oodles of messages suffuse with love and wisdom from my soul sisters and brothers ’round the world.
Dear one, remember to email me any requests for prayer or extra love/juju that YOU need today.
Don’t go it alone. ❤️
You are loved.
We belong to each other.
Let’s standTALL together and light up the world.
xo, -Sarah Davison-Tracy – Author | Speaker | Founder, Seeds of Exchange
Making a difference locally and globally, together – Community | Storytelling | Giving
