Bird Droppings November 20, 2023

Finding solace along the way

A few days ago, a good friend said I could read every word in Bird Droppings today, and I did not think I used too many fancy words, although I have a bad habit of inventing words. They said there were no fancy high-fangled words that I never saw before. As I was thinking, I wondered what about a simple word yet powerful, so today, a new vocabulary word, SOLACE.

“Comfort in sorrow, misfortune, or distress; consolation.” Dictionary.com

I was thinking as I walked out this morning just after 6:00 to check on a possible sunrise. It was a quiet morning, perhaps peaceful even; clouds were shifting about, and you could still see the starry sky, and there were no frogs or crickets to be heard. The crickets and tree frogs provided a faint chorus normally when I go out in the wee hours of the night and morning, but the chill in the air and cold front have put a damper on that. It is interesting for me as I begin to finalize a chapter in my own life; with my dissertation edited and now reviewing and finalizing, I am looking forward to finishing my doctorate. I should say that I look forward to my daily writing to seek solace. The word solace is calming as the final pieces fall into place. I tend to seek solace within myself, looking within, searching within, and finding a spot where I am at peace and can rejuvenate.

For many people, solace is, in other ways, a massage, a book, or perhaps a quiet walk. Several years ago, when my brother passed away, my mother was grieving; she sought solace in writing to assist others in the grieving process. Not too long after my brother John passed away, a young man who we all knew was killed in a car accident. At my brother’s funeral, my mother pressed flowers and made bookmarkers with poems for friends and family; the pressed flowers were laminated into the bookmarkers. She gathered a few blossoms from this young man’s funeral and did likewise.

The thanks from his family were shared as two mothers embraced and smiled a few weeks later. I wonder, as I sit and ponder, why do so many not seek solace? I watch many folks smolder and contain their sorrow, grief, and discomfort, letting it build into depression and illness for some. Yet, for some, solace is that weekly sojourn to church and those daily intercessory sessions in prayer. Solace can be a simple process, but I think it is an active one as well. We need to seek solace, not just wait. Far too many people want to be solaced by others and never really get there. There is an interaction, but you must be a willing participant and be seeking that state of mind. I am wandering this morning. It has been several years since I was reintroduced to James Kavanaugh, a poet and author from my early college days.

KNOW THIS, MY FRIEND

by James Kavanaugh

Know this, my friend,

I will never desert you.

I will be there when all have gone away,

When finally you have nothing more to say,

And there is no apparent reason ever for me to stay.

When all the fears of a lifetime have crowded in on you

And every particle of your past has lost all meaning,

When you cannot lift your head

or hold back the tears,

And you can no longer bear

the terror of your own ruminations,

When all your triumphs are as dust

that cannot hold you aloft,

And even the family you raised and loved

have no time for you,

I will be there

To bring you what joy and courage I can,

To remind you of all the beauty and wonder

you are,

To heal you with all the love I have,

To carry you, if need be, wherever you must go,

Only because you are my friend

And I will never desert you.

I never realized how much I missed a poet, as I did when I was reunited with James Kavanaugh at Piedmont College in a graduate class. I had read his work back in the day, the early 1970s, when I drove a VW van, had long hair, and was still against wars and for peace. As I thought, looking at this poem, the word solace can be reading a poem or understanding someone’s thoughts. Yesterday, I went through contemplative reading, and this is a piece that would take well with that. Contemplate the words and meaning Kavanaugh is trying to convey to the reader. As I sit here and as time goes so often for me, it is sitting each morning and or afternoon writing Bird Droppings that is solace for me. So my friends, as you seek solace in your way, may seek also peace this wonderful day, and please keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your heart namaste.

My family and friends, I do not say this lightly,

Mitakuye Oyasin 

(We are all related)

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