In confidence and hope

I happened to look up while waiting at a stoplight yesterday as I was leaving Portland, and there was this giant goddess atop an adjacent building, kneeling above me with her hand outstretched. I'm not quite sure who she is, or why she holds a trident in her other hand, but I definitely got the feeling that together we could conquer the world.

Which is exactly the feeling I got listening to Obama's inaugural speech this morning -- and the feeling I got from reading today's post on the storycatcher's blog (http://storycatcher.net/wordpress/). The link to her blog was sent to me this morning by a dear friend, and I was most impressed with the storycatcher's prayer for the inauguration; a prayer which, though written before the inauguration occurred, sidestepped all the anxiety I was feeling -- for Obama and his family, so exposed, and for all those crowds of people gathered in DC for this historic occasion -- and moved boldly into the future that lies before us.

So that you, too, may begin to feel the confidence in our future that emanates, both from Obama's speech and from this prayer, I pass it on to you:

"Thank you for protecting President Obama and all around him. Thank you for their wise and courageous decisions today. Thank you for bringing the American people into readiness for this leadership, and for our willingness to face a future that needs to be different. Thank you for making me ready. Thank you for imbuing me with courage to step into the unknown, to let go of old forms of security and reach boldly for that which is coming into being.”

And I say: amen to that!... or perhaps just this: Yes We Can!