Love, Care, Magic and Mystery

So today is the 12th of December, and I have noticed that I’m holding some things about this day.

And I wanted to express them, share them, honour them in some way I guess.

So there’s three things actually.

And having kind of contemplated them this morning I realised that they’re really about love, care, magic, and mystery.

Thing 1

So the first thing is, five years ago, on this day, on the 12th of December I was in Bristol Royal Children’s Hospital with my daughter Olive who had been in hospital for about six weeks.

This was after suffering a stroke and having emergency brain surgery and then being in rehabilitation. And I remember this day, because I’ve got photos and, videos and stuff from the hospital, which I’ve been looking through which she would be mortified if I posted them.

But I remember this day because on this day she was really learning to walk again with some confidence. And she was sort of doing these crazy dance moves in the hospital corridors with me in the evening.

And then yesterday five years later she just posted some artwork and print work that she’s doing.

She’s now at art college on an art foundation and this work is taking inspiration from one of her brain scans.

I’m clearly being a really proud dad, I’m bursting with emotions to be honest, but I just thought that’s amazing. To see the journey she’s been on and how she is now kind of expressing some of that experience through art.

She is a warrior and has been on an incredibly challenging path which continues but love, care, magic and mystery are really at work here I believe.

Thing 2

So on this day, the 12th of December, three years ago my father passed away. And I was with him all the way, which is something I’ll never forget.

And I’m extremely grateful that I was able to be with him and witness that passing.

But 24 hours after he passed I was visited by a huge charm of goldfinches.

Thoroughly visited.

A charm is the word for a collective, a crew of gold finches. And, there must have been somewhere between 12 to 15 of these little extraordinary birds.

It was a surreal thing to witness. And I felt his presence so strongly.

And, I continued to be visited by those birds for nearly two years, probably more since his passing. And I know that I feel his presence every time those birds are close to me.

So much so I had a goldfinch tattooed on my arm.

I miss him but I sense him often and so I’m reminded again of the possibilities of carrying love, care, magic and mystery.

Thing 3

On this day today there is a song which has been released called Lullaby by the Together for Palestine movement.

And it’s a Christmas single, it’s a beautiful song and it’s been created by a wonderful collaboration of artists and musicians and organisations and if they can sell about a hundred thousand copies, it will go to number one in the sales charts for Christmas.

And I just think that would be a really beautiful thing.

It costs one UK pound. You can’t stream it, you have to buy it.

Buy via Bandcamp

Buy via all other platforms

I’m wondering in these times what could something like that do, that showing of love and care and the magic and mystery behind that.

So, I think what’s come up for me today when I’ve been thinking about these things is I know I’m reaching the end of this year exhausted, crawling into the slower time with gratitude and also fear about the state of these times, and I’m sure you might be too.

And I’ve been thinking about how much energy I often spend and how maybe many of us in the culture are spending trying to make sense of these times - to understand the violent, oppressive, hateful, selfish, ignorant, racist energies that are growing across our societies.

And I’m coming to believe that perhaps we’re wasting too much of our energy on trying to understand these ways, trying to understand their logics, and I’m not sure we ever will.

And so I’m wondering what would happen if (and I’m going to try and do this) we were able to focus a bit more of that energy (currently trying to understand the madness) on practicing with intention to carry and centre love, care, magic and mystery into our lives, communities and into the world around us.

What might happen ?

So I’m just sharing this as a kind of December the 12th offering.

Love, care, magic and mystery.

Blessings to you

Dan

🙏🏼💙✨