Meet and be met (#NaPoWriMo Day 28)

There is an ease in feeling
the borders of the physical
self in the warm embrace
of a loved one, or while
cozy in a sleeping bag,
under wide open stars.
The body speaks to us
in the sharp (and occasionally
dull) language of a stiff
low back, lighting pain of
a migrane, a tightness in
the neck. All too often
we move through our lives
with a peripheral sense
(at best) of this glorious
vehicle of consciousness.
And yet.
And yet there is an embrace
with us even here, even as
we anticipate a call of
bad news, or open today’s
newspaper steeling ourselves
against the harsh reality of
our times. For our body is
in constant connection
with that which surrounds us -
air, atmosphere, life —
hardly a vacuum. And in
this way, we are always
holding hands. Soften
is the instruction. Notice
how movement is met — a
hand through the air; walking
through the isles of a
bookstore; approaching a
loved one for a warm
embrace. Meet and be
met, allow the space -
the entirety of the universe -
hold you.