For a few minutes on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, the whole world paused and breathed in a breath of provocative introspection. Divisive narratives and dueling partisan diatribes were silenced by poetic words of justice, truth and light. And just for a moment . . . we all marveled together at the wisdom and inspiration contained in a beautiful young woman’s heart and mind.
Twenty-two year old Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history captivated the entire world with her poise, presence and perspective. Her graceful hand-gestured, dramatic delivery invited us all to join her on a different plane of thinking, a transcendent perch above the shadows of conflict and chaos left on the very steps beneath her feet. Her words challenged us to “lift our gazes” and embrace her elevated vision of a more positive future.
For a moment we caught site of the dream of unity, heard the enduring pleas of our better angels and we said a collective . . . “Amen”.
No doubt, “The Hill We Climb” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/20/amanda-gorman-poem-biden-inauguration-transcript will have its notable place in history but where will it live in our present? Will we answer the call to be brave enough to not only “see the light” but indeed to “be the light”?
Will the impact and solemnity of her words continue to echo in the chambers of our heart or will they quickly be overpowered by the newest partisan outrage of the day?
What we do from here with that shining beam of inspiration – is up to each of us. Bravery to dispel the darkness will require daily diligence and commitment to seeking truth over narratives which make us feel good.
As the undertow is a relentless, strong seaward bottom current returning the water of broken waves back out to sea – so will be the powerful draw to get swept away by the ocean of opinion. We can choose to stay on the shore.
We can hone our critical thinking skills instead of pile on to a false narrative which triggers our reactive emotions.
We can climb the hill together . . . if we are brave enough to embrace poetic “just-us.”
This article was written by a guest blogger. The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of Bob Lacey, Sheri Lynch or the Bob & Sheri show.
The Zen Den
Hello and welcome to The Zen Den. My name is Alison and while I am passionate about many things, my most inspiring driving force is human connection. Blogger, content writer, orthopedic exercise specialist, motivational speaker, international yoga pro, published songwriter, avid poker player, mom and wife are just a few of my titles. But when I do my job at NASA, I am known simply as “The Fairy Zenmother” a role I deeply love because people invite me into their space to help them find their center, relax and stretch their muscles and destress their mind. Here in the blogosphere version of The Zen Den, I invite you into my world where I will explore ideas for creating a better tomorrow and a kinder today. And hopefully, with insight, authenticity and humor; my words, observations and experiences will help you feel calm, centered, intellectually challenged and spiritually enlightened. Alternatively, if you have something you would like to see covered in The Zen Den, just let me know. Your feedback is welcome and valuable to the success of this blog. Finally, my heart is filled with gratitude to have this opportunity to share with all of you.
