Grace Paley was a poet, author, and activist. Her father, Isaac Goodside, a refugee from Ukraine, wrote her a message about dealing with aging. I’m not sure why,  but it touched me deeply and is a beautiful message for living with fear and anger in our time and our troubled country.

I will do what he suggested this morning when I meditate. When we both got up this morning, I read this passage to Maria and rushed to the computer to write it—a perfect Sunday morning message in America.

Please sit down, he told her. “Be patient. The main thing is this —when you get up in the morning,  you must take your heart in your two hands. You must do this every morning.”

She asked her father if this was a metaphor. His replay was to become legendary:

 

 

“Metaphor? No, no, you can do this. In the morning, do a few little exercises for the joints, not too much. Then, put your hands like a cup over and under the heart. Under the breast. Then whisper, don’t yell. Under your ribs, push a little. When you wake up,  you must do this massage. I mean, pat, stroke a little,  don’t be ashamed. Very likely, no one will be watching. Then  you must talk to your heart.”

We’re going to the theater this afternoon in Williamstown, Mass.