BF and I were reading our morning devotional and a word popped out at me, “harmony.” I jotted it down in my journal and said, “harmony. I like that word. That’s my word for the day.” An antithesis for the times to the point of sounding foreign. It rings discord. If ever I’ve lived in a time when the world felt less harmonious, I don’t remember it.

I’m feeling lonely, operating on the side of caution with the virus, still quarantining while the rest of the world seems to be going back to life as usual. I have to turn off my inner teacher and remind myself I’m not the mask monitor. How can a disease and the safe management thereof turn political? And then there’s the whole examining myself and my behaviors in regard to racism and feminism and political beliefs. It’s a lot.

And then out of the blue, I received a text message with the following words and attachment: “What the world needs now . . .”

Synchronicity at its best. The Universe really wants me to focus on harmony. I question, is it possible to teach this conflicted world to sing in perfect harmony? Is it possible to build the world a home and furnish it with love? Peace throughout the land?

Lately, the Universe has presented me with much to think about and plenty of time in which to think it. This week, I enjoyed the #SharetheMicNow campaign on Instagram where many of my sheros turned over their Instagram feeds to black women. I listened to Brittney Cooper, who stepped in for Elizabeth Gilbert, read the chapter “White Girl Tears” from her book, Eloquent Rage, A Black Feminist Discovers her Superpower. And yes, it made me uncomfortable. I loved the #culturetags of Eunique Jones Gibson in for Katie Couric and the discussions between between Tarana Burke and Dr. Yaba Blay on Glennon Doyle’s feed and on and on. Listening and learning.

I was talking to a friend on the phone yesterday who asked, “Why are we still doing this? Why hasn’t this been taken care of? We had the whole thing with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. back in the 1960’s?

Interesting question. We talked about how important looking at history and self-examination is at a time like this. I believe when we are presented with a lesson, and we don’t get it, it comes back around to us. So many lessons right now.

Perhaps in this time, the harmony is in the discord. The discord of difficult conversations, anger, loneliness, illness and fear: the ring of change. Can we be honest? Show empathy? Be kind? Accepting of others’ choices? Maybe harmony presents herself in different tones and that’s really what I’m hearing. Just maybe. Harmony.