22 . 02 . 2022

Whatever it may say about me, I do rather like dates with a pattern so I knew 22.02.2022 which was not only a palindrome but also an ambigram, and made up of all matching digits was definitely worth marking! And to add to the joy it was a Twosday as well.

It was, all things considered, a great day to have a party!

And so I filled my home with people. 

I think, altogether I counted 47 who came and went through the day. 

They ranged in age from six weeks to well over seventy years. 

They came from 11 different nationalities from all across the world.

There were people I knew from various different contexts. 

There was mess and noise and lots of laughter.

There were cups of tea, plenty of food, and too much cake (if such a thing can ever be said).

There were people who mucked in to help tidy up and do the washing up and even hoover before they left.

There were conversations between friends and between strangers who had only just met each other.

There were friendships being deepened and community being built.

My heart is full. Thank you!

Birth pangs and beauty

I know I use the word privilege a lot when I speak or write about my life and all the encounters and experiences it affords me. I do so because it is the one that genuinely sums up how I feel.

A few weeks ago, I was birthing partner for a very special friend and helped her welcome her child into the world. I sat by her side for hours in a hot, airless room witnessing pain and struggle and hope. I held out a hand and wished there was more I could offer. I cut the cord which had been literally the life blood of a child for the past nine months. I held a tiny child in my arms very soon after their entrance into the world.  

My insight into the miracle we call life has a new facet to it. The term "birth pangs" has taken on a much deeper meaning. 

Perhaps what struck me the most was the stark juxtaposition: of airlessness and the need to breathe deeply, of pain and of beauty, of fragility and of resilience: and how it stood as a reminder of the complications and contradictions that make up this messy, miraculous reality we call life. 

It was an immense privilege to be a tiny part of their story.

I thought at the time there was probably a poem in it. It has been fragments ever since. And now it has found a shape.  

Breathe in, breathe out

Reach out

Hold tight

Seek the light

And through the tears

And pains and fears

Amidst the mess

The sweat, the stress

A fragile hope

Of beauty

Bleeds

New life

Holds on

Holds tight

And this little, tiny life

So fragile, so frail

And yet so strong

Strives on

Towards the light

And as we watch

And as we wait

We bear witness

To

The resilience

Of vulnerability

And of faith

Trusting

The world is ready

To welcome

To offer a place

A sacred space

To simply be

Born

To simply be

  

Breathe in, breathe out

Reach out

Hold tight

Seek the light

And so we wait

Beneath bright

Artificial light

Whilst unheeded

Beyond the windows

The day fades gently towards night

The day fades

The sun sets

And life awakes

A final sigh

A baby's cry

And beauty breaks

Across the sky

And as

Eyes open

Heart beats

Cry breaks

Beyond the strain

Between the pain

Is born

This miracle of life

And a cord is cut

But as one

life-link

Severs

Thus begins

A whole world of

Trusting in

Depending on

Connecting with

One another

And so

Little one

Breathe in, breathe out

Reach out

Hold tight

Find the light.