May 18, 2011

Celebrating the sun~


I've been in Indiana less than 48 hours and the impact of the gray, white sky, heavy with moisture, and cold does not go unnoticed or felt. I have been spoiled in the last year living in New Smyrna Beach, Florida with the radiant blue skies, bright sun, and the unexpected breeze that caresses my cheek.


The stark contrast engenders gratitude~


My dear friend, whom I am visiting in Indianapolis, shared a poem with me written by one of our favorite poets, Mary Oliver.

Such Gifts

The Place I Want to Get Back To

is where
in the pinewoods
in the moments between
the darkness

and first light
two dear
came walking down the hill
and when they saw me

they said to each other, okay,
this one is okay,
let's  see who she is
and why she is sitting

on the ground, like that,
so quiet, as if
asleep, or in a dream,
but, anyway, harmless;

and so they came
on their slender legs
and gazed upon me
not unlike the way

I go out to the dunes and look
and look and look
into the faces of the flowers:
and then one of them leaned forward

and nuzzled my hand, and what can my life
bring to me that could exceed
that brief moment?
For twenty years

I have gone every day to the same woods,
not waiting, exactly, just lingering.
Such gifts, bestowed,
can't be repeated.

If you want to talk about this
come to visit. I live in the house
near the corner, which I have named
Gratitude.


Gratitude enters into our lives in so many ways; gently, softly, quietly, unannounced, unexpectedly, brashly, brilliantly...we must be open to accept and cherish. Perhaps it is a matter of entering into at state of  "lingering" with full awareness, anticipating the gift of gratitude that awaits us.