Darling Citizen*
Oh, what a time
These holidays have been.
I find myself
Slightly stultified
By Staycation.
So much lounging.
So much freedom
To go slower,
Or faster.
So much freedom
To do everything.
Or nothing.
Freedom to
Leave the house
And
Never
Return.
Or
Freedom
To
Never
Leave,
My personal favorite.
Too much freedom?
Oh,
No,
But
Maybe
Just maybe,
Too
Many cookies?
Ya think?
At any rate, friends,
Because my brain is
Slowly realigning with reality,
I suggest we keep
This blog
Super-simple.
Let me offer you
A few
Of my favorite
Current
Inspirations:
~~~
First-
A drumroll:
The winner of the best cartoon- of the moment.
It amuses me that the New Yorker and I
Are thinking along
The same
Stultifying
Avenues.
~~~
Next, I offer you:
A delicious Mary Oliver poem.
I adore this one.
I’ve used it, read it to classes, with great delight,
I read it to myself.
Again and again.
With growing, great delight—
Here’s Mary:
Mornings at Blackwater:
“For years, every morning, I drank
from Blackwater Pond.
It was flavored with oak leaves and also, no doubt,
the feet of ducks.
And always it assuaged me
from the dry bowl of the very far past.
What I want to say is
that the past is the past,
and the present is what your life is,
and you are capable
of choosing what that will be,
darling citizen.
So come to the pond,
or the river of your imagination,
or the harbor of your longing,
and put your lips to the world.
And live
your life.”
~~~
Oh, Mary.
I love that the pond is flavored with the feet of ducks.
I adore that.
And, please, Darling citizen—must be one of life’s best phrases.
Has anybody ever used those two words together before?
And your ongoing reminder—we get to choose our lives.
Choose our moment.
You invite us into life with such gracious delight.
Dear Mary,
Thank you.
~~~
Here is another favorite
An exquisite rendition of an oldie but oh, so goodie.
Here is Paul Simon.
2019
Concert at Hyde Park
Clearly a momentous song.
Saying so much.
Musically.
Lyrically.
Culturally.
Emotionally.
As only Paul can.
~~~
And I’ll end with this powerful quote by Guthema,
Timely, indeed:
“Be wise, my dear.
They say there is time for everything –
Time to be strong
And time to be soft.
Now is the time to be a Willow tree and bend –
Let this storm pass.”
~~~
For this new year,
Darling Citizens,
May we see the goodness in our lives.
May we attend
To the world around us,
With caring and compassion,
As best we can.
May we relax into kindness
For ourselves,
For each other,
And
For all.
May all beings benefit from our shared words.
Blessings,
Aruni
~~~
*phrase by Mary Oliver, Mornings at Blackwater