02.02.2026. The Amen Ripple
Hello dear Friends,
“Be the lighthouse in the ocean.”
― Delphanie Frank
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Under the ruse of federal agents "keeping us safe," we have witnessed the horrific—the ruthless—rooted in misuse of power, greed, and cruelty. Two citizens were brutally killed. Shooting someone in the back is one thing and beyond horrible; but shooting someone’s dead body as it lies face down on the ground—firing five more shots into Alex Pretti’s back—is not about protection and safety. It is about hate. There is no other word. This, like many of you, I cannot shake.
Two people’s deaths—Renee Good’s and Alex Pretti’s—are now shaking 300 million people awake, calling us to do something different: to look at the painful fissures, the cracks in the heart of our country’s foundation that need repair and care. Their deaths are shaking us inward, too, to look at the very foundations of our own beings—to tend to and own our base rage, hatred, cruelty, and fear; to hold and make peace with all our parts—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and heal the cracks in our own foundations. This is what grows us more human, more kind.
What breaks us transforms us; this we know is true. This is the hope and prayer now: that what is here is the beginning of widening our capacity, our humanity.
We are seeing this in Minneapolis, too. Yes, people are protesting, marching for peace, rising up, and coming together as one in outstanding ways to offer care and protection to each other. Talk about "Love thy neighbor!" Yes, it’s happening up there in the U.S. state that shares a border with Canada—up there under the Great Lakes' winter hours of dark and cold. That is a holy, unstoppable, ‘amen’ ripple. May it ripple and ripple across state lines, all the way to the edges of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Perhaps this is what is calling to each of us, too. Perhaps now is the time to amplify our part, to amplify our heart-song—that which is ours to do. Let our hearts be rippled and touched by the ice and by the sun of kindness. Let our hearts cross lines and meet the edges of each other with care and compassion, even in the small, ordinary ways: a smile, a wave, a patience, a generosity, a soft eye toward each other. A million ‘smalls’ are mighty; they add up to a net positive for our troubled and gorgeous world!
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Gratitude, always.
Love, Wini
PS: More goodness below—two poems, three quotes, and things in between to inspire the heart. And, this week three closing songs!!! Always made with ♥️.
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🌸 Two Poems. "Poetry engages us to imagine something better; it helps keep hope alive; it incites us to make more radical demands" ― David Constantine
It Isn't Magic | Gregory Orr
It's not magic; it isn't a trick.
Every breath is a resurrection.
And when we hear the poem
Which is the world, when our eyes
Gaze at the beloved's body,
We're reborn in all the sacred parts
Of our own bodies:
the heart
Contracts, the brain
Releases its shower
Of sparks,
and the tear
Embarks on its pilgrimage
Down the cheek to meet
The smiling mouth.
Faith | David Whyte
I want to write about faith,
about the way the moon rises
over cold snow, night after nightfaithful even as it fades from fullness,
slowly becoming that last curving and impossible
sliver of light before the final darkness.But I have no faith myself
I refuse it the smallest entry.
Let this then, my small poem,like a new moon, slender and barely open,
be the first prayer that opens me to faith.
🍃 Do you remember the first poem that erupted—spontaneously erupted—tears from your eyes? I would love to hear, if you want to share. I will post here.
This was mine: "Faith" by David Whyte.
I heard it recited in 1996.
I heard it as prayer, trembling, tumbling through my bones.
I heard it as true—whole even so, even when I seem to be more "sliver."
I heard words put form on the wordless in my heart.
🌸 Three Quotes | Thomas Merton. L.R. Knost. Margaret Renkl.
“There is in all visible things an invisible fecundity, a dimmed light, a meek namelessness, a hidden wholeness. … There is in all things an inexhaustible sweetness and purity, a silence that is a fountain of action and of joy. It rises up in wordless gentleness and flows out to me from the unseen roots of all created being…” — Thomas Merton
“Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.” ― L.R. Knost
“He sings from the middle of the power line above the road. He sings from inside a holly bush at one of the pollinator garden. All day long he sings and sings. It is a loud, piercing song that shudders his full body, a song that lifts straight through the clouds and far beyond the sky. All this long winter long, the song of sparrow in his pine tree pulpit has been teaching me that one exuberant, unceasing song can change everything.” –Margaret Renkl
One sparrow.
One unceasing birdsong.
One way to meet the dark long night of winter, of the soul, of the world, .
One way to hold hope, hold our hearts, in uncertain times, sing out our holy anthems-songs into our holy trouble and gorgeous world.
One unceasing song can change everything. Holy amen.
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🌸 An Offering | Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose.
"Mattering is a universal human need that all of us have to feel valued for who we are deep inside, and to have an opportunity to add value to the world around us, to our families, friends, colleagues, and communities".
― Jennifer Breheny Wallace
Popping up everywhere research to know about: "Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose" by Jennifer Breheny Wallace.
I had the great opportunity to listen to Jennifer being interviewed by FAN (Family Action Network)—another great resource to know about and subscribe to; they offer dynamic interviews accessible online.
🎬 Watch: Replay of the interview with Jennifer Breheny Wallace and Robert Waldinger, MD, on Mattering (55:50 min).
Also sent my way: Jennifer Breheny Wallace speaks about the value of ‘mattering’ on The Oprah Podcast. I have not listened yet, but it was recommended by two reliable sources: my good friend Katie and—well, it’s Oprah!
She is also featured on Susan Cain’s Substack (one I subscribe to; she is the author of Quiet, a book to read, add to your list!).
✍️ A 30-Second Journal Practice:
To strengthen the neural networks of mattering, a practice to close your day by writing the answers to these two questions:
Where was one moment today where you felt valued?
Where was one moment today where you added value?
“Another big lesson I learned in my reporting was that people need to know they matter more than they need their privacy.”
― Jennifer Breheny Wallace
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🌸🎶 Three Closing Songs | Music for Your Heart in Uncertain Times
How will the world heal? Perhaps through collaboration, through sacred friendship, through song—through the power of praise and remembering. This I do believe.
Give a listen to these three gorgeous songs, a contribution to the Metta Letters from three gorgeous, sacred friends:
✨ An offering from Leslye: Resilient (4:19 min) by Rising Appalachia. Let the words wash through you:
I am resilient/I trust the movement/I negate the chaos/Uplift the negative/I’ll show up at the table, again and again and again…
These times are poignant/The winds have shifted/It’s all we can do/To stay uplifted…What are you gonna do about it when the world comes undone?
My voice feels tiny and I’m sure so does yours/ But put us all together we make a mighty roar
✨ An offering from Kate: Devi Prayer (21:21 min) by Craig Pruess & Ananda. A beloved song for the heart. A song that bathes you in warmth and care, a bath of heart care.
This sacred hymn invokes the divine feminine energy, the supreme, nurturing, and creative power of the universe. It asks for guidance and blessings, recognizing the Divine Mother in all things. By listening and chanting along, it nurtures the heart, cultivates a deeper sense of inner peace and compassion, connecting to the energy that sustains us all. Beauty-amen.
The heart of the prayer is the repeated phrase:
"Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah" translates to: "I bow to you, I honor you, I adore you, I salute you."
✨ An offering from Patricia, Keep Marching (3:53 min) from Suffs by Shaina Taub, a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical about the American women's suffrage movement.
A song that rallies hope, seeds courage, and incites goosebumps. A song for our day! “Yes, the world can be changed, we've done it before.”
For those reading this here in Chicago near me, yes Suff is coming to CIBC Theatre, Dates: Jul 7 – Jul 19, 2026, for sure one to go see!
🌸🙏 Dedicate Merit | In all Mystical traditions, there is a closing prayer – prayers of blessing, gratitude and protection.
May the sun bring you new energy by day.
May the moon softly restore you by night.
May the rain wash away your worries.
May the breeze blow new strength into your being.
— Apache Blessing Prayer
“May all beings be safe and protected, this I wish for everyone. May we awaken fully in order to help all beings.”
– love, Wini
Have a blessed day 💖
🌸 PS. You can find all the newsletters archived on my website.
These newsletters will always be free—and if you appreciate receiving these weekly offerings grounded in tender-goodness please consider offering support through Buy Me a Coffee, 🌸 venmo (Winifred-Nimrod) 🌸 or zelle (wininim@gmail.com) 🌸
Thank you, I am a one-woman, two-finger typing, unfolding her thousand-petal bloom.
✨ May we bloom more Light.
💞 May we grow more Goodness for the healing of all.
🌎 May each of us thread our heart-tenderness, our Beauty, into the fabric of our planet.
….Until next week. 💖 ✨
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.
- Mary Oliver
Website: https://www.wininimrod.com/
