It is a cold rainy night, weather to suit the somber reality of yet another mass shooting in the news. Seeking more than a meal, I wind down the road to the only restaurant in our small town. It is one of winter’s Wednesdays at the pub where folks gather to unwind mid-week, laugh a bit and enjoy our local musicians.
The warm smile of a familiar face asks if I’ll be having the usual. I opt for a change and she transitions smoothly – “I know you like one or the other.” I thank her for her attention.
Some friends are already here; others arrive as the evening unfolds. Hugs and happy repartee create a soothing background hum.
We are blessed with very talented musicians in this rural hamlet. For two hours they perform, transporting us through personal memories and shared experiences. Increasingly the patrons’ attention focuses forward on the music and the shades of our human journey. Collectively we settle into the warm embrace of our community.
The final song encapsulates the scene. Written by Karla Bonoff, known best from Bonnie Raitt’s cover and sung beautifully by our friends, it portrays the sense of belonging and return to the place of heart we call home.
Traveling at night, the headlights were bright. But soon the sun came through the trees around the next bend. The flowers will send the sweet smell of home in the breeze.
And Home, sings me of sweet things. My life there has its own wings to fly over the mountains though I’m standing still.
Winding my way back up the hill, I am refreshed, heading home from home.
sacredlead 
I have been singing this song with my mother since I was a small girl… As I grew up, I learned to harmonize with her, our voices blending–tied together by strings of our hearts. When she moved away, I took the lead on this song and continue to sing it out with friends. Sometimes when the refrain comes around, I can still hear my mother’s voice in my head like a lullaby, reminding me that she–and all of my loved ones–will forever be here in my heart. Last night, I sang that song for her, for our sweet friend who still misses her beloved husband, and for all of us who yearn for the arms of our dear friends and family, here and gone; we need to remember these beautiful ties in the good times as well as in the bad times. These past weeks have been hard on folks everywhere–they have tested our sense of human decency and asked us to question the moral fiber of this race, for the ugliness of one person is indeed a reflection of what each one of us is capable of–we are all drops of water in the same sea. Let these horrors remind us why it is so important to be loving, giving, forgiving, and compassionate, especially in the midst of the upheaval. It is such a gift to have the nourishment you talk about, Bob–it is a balm, a reminder of how precious and good life can be-and is.
Katie, your words are as beautiful as your songs and the spirit in your heart.
a prophetic voice from the distant past emerges again – “those who live by the sword will die by the sword – do not overcome evil with evil; overcome evil with good.” – perhaps a desperate attempt to delay the “house cleaning” of eons past – will we ever have enough soul “to love our enemies?”
Spot on, Steve. Speaking for myself, my capacities for love, compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation are being sorely tested. At the same time, moments like the music and connections of our community last night replenish my reservoir of hope.
“heading home from home” ~~ I really like that
🙂
Lovely to read your post Bob. I have always loved that song….Sending you a hug!
Good to hear from you, Lisa, and learn of your affection for the song. It helps me know there’s a home place to go within when the weather outside gets rough. Sending love and light…
Thanks Bob. We each need to find our ways of seeking solace in the face of the evil which stalks the earth. I take solace in the knowledge that in the long sweep of human history there are fewer and fewer wars and homicides today than ever before. You wouldn’t know it by staying glued to CNN and saturation coverage of the latest atrocity, but evil has always been part of our history as homosapiens. Is ISIS more evil than the Nazis, or the slave trade, or Atilla the Hun, or . . . ? We desperately need perspective to make sense of our times, and we need an unshakable faith in the power of love, and forgiveness, and hope. Wishing you well, old friend.
Great to hear from you, David, and have you share your perspectives. The solace of friends and music last night was certainly a blessed if momentary boost. I also embrace the quest for a larger context for understanding and making peace with forces that seem to be sweeping the globe. Among them certainly are inequities of wealth, food, shelter and health which our advancing technology makes more apparent more quickly to increasing numbers of people. What depresses me more is the blatant disregard of truth, facts, and science in the name of political expediency or religious righteousness. The larger context I am exploring is that the flaws of the human experiment may be overwhelming the laws of love and compassion, leading to the destruction of life and the planet as we have known them — all of which may be a “house-cleaning” that yields a more enlightened life force eons hence. Let’s dialogue more. 🙂
Lovely post Bob. Delightful picture of a sweet night. I am bound-up with anxious energy, wanting to do something other than complain about our gun laws when it comes to mass murders in the US. More this year than the days on the calendar, more than a mass murder per day.
We’re losing our moral compass, Jim. I sought solace last night in the gifts of our small community – ties of music and friendship that bind with the warmth of our hearth at home. I know it is a privilege to have such sources of nourishment, and my wish is that all beings have something comparable. The hardness of heart and mind and the disregard of truth or fact on the part of so many is incomprehensible.