This is a Spell for the Nation

Dear Friends,

Today I am reposting a kind of spell or prayer that I wrote this summer with the election in my heart-mind: a spell for the nation, a spell to hold true.

Among all the feelings I am waking up with is a deep gratitude for this space and for you. Also for poetry and art, for friendship and community, and for the grounding of my Buddhist practice with its long horizons of time.

If the idea of a practice or of meditation seems helpful or grounding to you, every Monday my Zen community offers Learn to Meditate, a free online class from 6:30-7:30 eastern time. I’m one of several people who lead the class in rotation. If you’ve been curious about meditation practice, or about Zen, I invite you to drop in. All are welcome. [Note: the zendo is closed Nov 11 for the holiday so the next class will be Nov 18.]

Meanwhile, let’s take care of one another.

Sending love,

— Sal

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A Spell for the Nation, A Spell to Hold True

This is a spell to bring back what is forgotten. This is a spell to arrange the letters of language into map. This is a spell to transmit my desires to the overheated air. This is a spell to turn on the electricity of ordinary kindness. This is a spell of praise. This is a spell of pleading. This is a spell to restore the fountain. This is a spell to shatter the defenses. This spell is a horn. This spell is a shout. This spell is breathing hard. This is a spell to bring back what was cast away. This is a spell for the earth, a spell of protection for the earth and its creatures. This is a spell for keeping true. This is a spell of warding and a spell of harboring. This is a spell to bring poetry to the poets and water to the gardens. This is a spell to shield the civilians. This is a spell to let the hearts stay broken. This is a spell of petals, leaves, waves, clouds, granules, particles, molecules, atoms. This is a spell at sea. This is a spell for the nation: may it be wholesome, may it be whole, may it be wholly good. May each person carry out their tasks with a great tenderness. May each body be able to rest under a tree. May the cooks have everything they need. May the artists turn again to the colors they love. May the arguments become irrelevant. This is a spell of life. This is a spell of unknowing. This is a spell against petty meanness. This is a spell against greed. What were you thinking? I want to recall you to yourself. This is a spell to remove the stinger. This is a spell to hold you. This is a spell so that you may keep living. This is a spell for the tongue. This is a spell to hold you. This is a spell to hold you. This is a spell to hold true.

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Tell me how you are — I’d love to hear from you.

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