The new year… well upon us… leaves many of us trying to gain footing as we try to move forward. Many of us don’t have the footing we wish for… like we are trying to run on ice. Pushing forward with great effort, but moving slow if at all, and at the same time just doing what we can to keep from crashing down. I hear talk of hope… see flashes of vision… smell winds of change…

… but sometimes it is hard to believe its coming. What glares me in the face so often is the insecurity and the fear that wind their ways around the things we hold most dear. It is a time for questions… all that we have asked before in our times of wonderings.

• Who is in control?
• How much stuff is enough?
• Where is the safe place?
• Who is my neighbor and what does he.she need?

We don’t have the answers all that often and I am reminded of the words of our patron saint, Rainer Maria Rilke, as he says: “…have patience with everything that is unsolved in your heart. Try to love the QUESTIONS THEMSELVES… do not now look for the answers. They cannot be given to you because you could not live them, … at present you need to LIVE the question…” I’ll try… but we need each other… we are always beginning. ALWAYS BEGINNING… and for now, we just need space for that to be ok.

2009 brings a change with our Shepherd.Knucklehead wonderings. In an effort to go less formal and less costly, we will be meeting at an even richer space, ripe with possibilities… a hub of activity —  poetHOUSE | tbd loft | minnesota ave downtown (7ish first monday of the month)

So next Monday, we dive into it again, folks. Bring a friend. Our songster is, like the loft, tbd. The question is determined and I can promise a good one… but you’ll have to wait to find out. Beverages as well, you’ll have to bring your own. No worries, there’s a wine bar downstairs. $2 PBRs if you’re lucky.

So Monday | February 2 | 7ish @ the poetHouse... Shepherds… Knuckleheads… somewhere inbetweens… see you there! (and forward this on to the other hungry ones you know)