my marvelous, mysterious friend,
this is a short sharing of poems written at a Zen monastery along with photos taken from my earlier travels in Nara, Japan. it is also the last stepping stone for quite some time, as we pivot more strongly to a new online home: alcentian.com
i’ve gone ahead and added you to the new list. you can unsubscribe at any time. if you don’t see an email from another publication, let me know and we can sort it out!
much love,
river / sam
Alçente
to the love that is us
from single cell
to cosmic sea
the song of life
resides in me
remember Love
relax and breath
hear the present
— integrity —
unwavering, together free
here we make
reality
descendants of ancient past
what spell does your heart cast?
Alçente reminds me that all difference can be related in harmony.
this truth gives me permission to relax, unwind, and embrace the full plurality of life, even that which is strange and scary to me.
it reminds me that we are magical beings making music in the present with the interplay of our presence, and that it is ok to sit with doubt, fear, pain, and uncertainty.
all of it is real, and all of it can help us connect with each other.
as Pema Chödrön writes:
“What will happen today is completely unknown…whatever happens, our commitment is to use it to awaken our heart” (The Places That Scare You, 109).
wherever we are, wherever we go, we can use our lives to “dissolve the indifference, aggression, and graspings that separate us from another.”
if we find ourselves in a society which has eroded community, trust, and belonging in the name of capital, what act is more radical than to reopen our hearts and create us?
what is more powerful than a total embrace of each other in this moment?
to do so with playfulness, curiosity, and courage is my vow.
embodying this question is one way to answer what it means to live alçentian — one of countless ways to harmonize the pluralities of us.
"Between You and me there is an "I am" that battles me,
So take away, by your grace, this "I am" from in between us.
- Mansur Al-Hallaj
Alçente —
the Golden Chord that is You
making Us | ensemble
the heart-songs!
hear how we ring 🎶
listen to the current song
how does your heart sing?
p.s. participation can come in all forms, from financial support to collabs to questions to introductions to apprenticeships to an hour for coffee or tossing a disk or going for a walk or language lessons or partnership or….anything you think of!
stay groovy.
try me.
Love you!
beautiful! love hearing from you, friend