World AIDS Day is a day of awareness, a time to remember those who are living with HIV and to work toward continued progress in prevention, treatment and access to life-saving medical care. Perhaps it is also a day to be aware of the many things that make our bodies and psyches less able to resist the dangers that come at us from within and without.
What helps you resist assaults on your emotional, spiritual or physical well-being?
Imagine stepping out into an environment unlike anything you’ve ever seen, where danger is ever-present and even the weight of your own body is unfamiliar. Imagine being filled with such wide-eyed curiosity that it is worth risking everything simply to experience and learn about something utterly new.
What is the furthest you have ever been outside your comfort zone? Why did you choose to go there?
Somehow, when we have overcome an obstacle or worked through a difficult problem, it feels as if we should arrive at the “land of milk and honey,” a place of rest and ease. But there will always be other obstacles, other mountains to climb, other problems that press forward.
How do you find ways to rest and renew yourself, even in the midst of the journey?
My father used to sing the old song “Look for the silver lining whenever clouds appear in the blue.” This always confused me as a child, since clouds very often do have silver-grey edges. But perhaps my childish failure to understand “silver lining” wasn’t so far off. Maybe, rather than trying to remember that “somewhere the sun is shining” we’re better off seeing the beauty in the clouds themselves.
Where have you found unexpected beauty?
