I wake up and reach for my phone
to find the time
and moments later I’m bobbing
along in the Eff Bee whitewater
with my fellows posters –
good morning, world! –
and I’m trying to dodge the flotsam
and jetsam of a culture that seems
Intent on keeping the world’s
hatred and fear fueled.
I’m dodging words: “libtard” and “Karen”
and “POS” and “asshat” –
and there’s talk of violence –
mob mentality – coming from both sides –
all sides –
and, of course, there’s the logjams
of the “experts” appearing periodically
to provide background info on
the history of Nazis and the Civil War.
I was a history major myself
and I can relate to the urge to show off
my expertise on these things, but my
intuition is telling me that, for the people
flailing in the whitewater with me, now
is not the time to pause to give a history
lesson – maybe we can do that later when we
reach a quiet eddy in the river.
Right now the roiling current pulls us towards
the boulders – tribalism, greed, me-firstness,
bigotry, bullying, ego –
and I point my feet down the river
as the whitewater guides told me to do –
and I choose to keep my survival simple
for myself – Love. Love is my lifevest.
Keep it simple. I don’t have to choose sides
or who to love.
Keep it simple. I choose Love –
all-encompassing, all-enveloping,
universal, unconditional, all-inclusive Love.
I let Love guide me through the whitewater.

-Karen Molenaar Terrell

Below: Anderson Creek. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.