The View from the Inside

Standing in the center of my life, I begin turning, arms outspread, head held high to the sky, eyes closed with a smile on my face. The warmth I feel on my skin soothes me today, the cluster of disillusionment compartmentalized in its own slice of pie, gray and vast, but there is a distinct end to it, and I see it. All the other pieces of the pie, although slightly smaller are hues of pink and yellow and blue - pastels and soft, soft, soft.

My hair reflecting sunlight, my smile radiating happiness, my back turned today on the darkness. I hold my breath and close my eyes, and I feel Hope's arms embracing me. My children stand beside me, their hands in my own now, and we spin around, dancing, smiling, happy. The darkness is illuminated by all the good beside it, touching its edges, but nowhere near where we've placed our feet, and it is manageable, and it is temporary and it is completely separate from who we are, and who we want to be. It exists as a mere chore to trudge through, nothing more, nothing less. But the rest of the circle - our life! My life! Unending slices steadily streaming forward from the center, un-ending and swirling into a tapestry of life filled with communal sharing and unity. Gorgeous. This view is gorgeous.