I woke up listening to the Slate Political Gabfest. I can hardly get through the gab part of it anymore as they are so pundit-y. But my favorite part has always been the part at the end where they do about 10-15 minutes of what they call “cocktail chatter” where they share fun things or unusual things or quirky things they’ve come across (they being Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz). They’ve even expanded the segment to include a cocktail chatter from a listener which has greatly enhanced this part of the podcast.

This week’s chatter included a suggestion to watch this 17-minute YouTube video of a group of Dutch Domino fan(antics) who wanted to break the world record for their amazing “show” of dominoes falling over each other and causing the whole scene to come alive. As I watched this amazing display (click the dominoes) and then read my daily reading from Hope-A User’s Manual, I’m smiling to myself that for me it’s truly been an “X leads to Y leads to Z” start of my day (see the chapter entitled Hope is Enough).

On a more serious note, as I look back at my life, I can see all kinds of examples of X leading to Y leading to Z, which to me just confirms that we are all connected. I used to have this wonderful poster in my office to remind me of just that very thought. It certainly goes along well with MaryAnn’s suggestion that I reflect on this statement “I myself am compelled by the idea of the Spirit of Life and Love and Yes being in the mess with me in every excruciating one of these beautiful and terrible chain reactions.” Blessed be.