Just Above Our Heads

The sky in Portland is always a constantly-evolving drama, putting the small stuff of cell phone towers and construction cranes, gossip and political posturing, ego and influence in their places. It has been a day of appointments, networking, planning, and communicating. Tonight the grandchildren will be with me from 7pm till midnight, and tomorrow I’ll lead a general meeting of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship starting at 10 am. 

But this. This roiling, shifting, ever-changing spectacle of impermanence is always going on, just above our heads, reminding us how small we are, and how dear our loved ones are to us. 

If you’ve never read James Baldwin’s novel, Just Above My Head, do yourself a favor and find a copy. It’s one of my all-time favorite novels.