Diamond-Cut Life

Two things (at least) stirred my soul during the inaugurational ceremonies yesterday of Governor John Kitzhaber here in Oregon.

One was a phrase used by poet Kim Robert Stafford in his inspirational poem. The phrase was “abundance moving toward need”.  That’s a diamond-cut concept if I ever heard one, the idea that abundance — I picture abundant resources — can move to where they are needed, where they can avert suffering and give people a shot at self-sufficiency and happiness, instead of staying inert in one place, or accumulating like a monstrous snowbank that gets top-heavy before toppling over and crushing living things.

Would someone please write a book entitled “Abundance Moving Toward Need”? Or better yet, start an agency or non-profit organization that makes that exact thing happen in this world where the poor are getting  measurably, relentlessly poorer while the rich get richer?  The concept of social justice is as much spiritual in nature as political.

I’ll write soon about the other person who stirred my soul during my new governor’s inauguration. It’s not who you might think. I just sent an email seeking an interview and a photo.

Final note: I am possibly the only Oregonian (along with my husband Thor) who is not heartbroken today that the University of Oregon Ducks lost last night to the Auburn Tigers in the national championship. Please understand: I love my state. But I just can’t work up any passion for spectator sports. (Sorry, Alli H.!) I want to do things myself rather than sit and watch other people do them.

I want to live out my own role in how abundance can move toward need.

Related Posts:

• Inaugural Elation: There’s A ‘We’ Here
• Martin Luther King Day and Inauguration Eve
• Seeking A Diamond-Cut Life
• The Great Sufficiency
• Enchanted With What I’ve Already Got, Part I