Night Runner— At Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA
What we have in life that we can count on is who we are and where we come from… For better or worse, that is what we have to sustain us in our endeavors, to buttress us in our darker moments, and to remind us of our identity. Without those things, we are adrift.
–Terry Brook, A Knight of the Word
Feeling adrift this morning, like I’ve lost sight of land and can’t exactly find my bearings. I am hoping that today doesn’t begin a long period of such a feeling for others in this country. Like forty years of drifting on empty seas or wandering aimlessly in the desert.
But as the fantasy writer Terry Brook points out above, when one is adrift in those darker moments all we can count on is who we are and all that this knowledge entails. Who we are is our strength and that must sustain us when we find ourselves adrift.
The question is: Who are we? Or should it be: Who am I?
I can’t say who we are anymore. I thought I knew but the fact remain that I don’t know.
Maybe I never did.
But I do know who I am.
I know what I value, what I respect, what I cherish. I know my strengths and weaknesses, what I am and what I am not. And that can’t be changed because it remains the only compass bearing that I know for certain is true, the only one I trust to guide me when I am adrift.
And this morning, I feel far removed from my homeland. Adrift and in the dark with only who I am to guide me home.
Here’s a favorite song on that theme from Blind Faith with Steve Winwood‘s iconic vocals.
Redtree Times 