Tag: Mary Oliver

With Peace-filled Blessings.

My darlings, this morning I am inspired by poet, Mary Oliver – with compliments from my favorite wooded trail.

Indeed, whoever you are, no matter how lonely – the earth offers itself to your imagination.

Namaste, and peace filled blessings, my loves ~ ❤️

“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.” – Mary Oliver, “Wild Geese”

This Question of Soul.

“Is the soul solid, like iron?” reflects poet, Mary Oliver. “Or, is it tender and breakable like the wings of a moth in the beak of an owl?”

Can it carry Hope upon a hummingbird’s wings?

My darlings, though often we may mistake as our Achilles heel – trust, that Soul is what keeps things ‘real.’ A silvered thread to “this moment now.”

Soul is what brings life to a weathered leaf; and peace to the simplicity of these scattered morning rays.

It captivates, enriches, and glorifies – making magic of ‘weeping’ willows.

And, cradling this gift of life within two humbled hands.

Soul is that which gathers us ‘here’, my loves – a simple faith restored through breath.

Namaste, my loves ~ and on this day, may we find courage enough to honor this light within us all.

❤️

Leaning Into the Wonderment of this World.

I’m reminded of a passage by poet, Mary Oliver this morning.

“It was early,” she writes “which has always been my hour to begin looking at the world and of course, even in the darkness, to begin listening into it. So many gifts!”

Indeed, sometimes we ‘need only to stand where we are’ to realize that we are blessed.

Look, look how the trees bow humbly before you – graced by the simple gift of your presence. Standing, in peace, as noble guardians – for all that has yet to come, and might soon be.

The path is wide and rich, my darlings – and, we’ve only just to lean into it a bit, to experience the true majesty of this life.

Open your eyes. Watch how the rain forms to fallen leaf, holding this space – with grace. And, “giving off the rich fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment.”

And, it’s all right here, my dearest darlings – our spiritual refuge, and only salvation.

Wrapped, as a gift, within each glorious moment – waiting patiently for our senses to come alive.

That we may, one day, finally lean into the wonderment of this world.

 

A Lesson From a Tree.

“When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks, and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out,

“Stay awhile.”

The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,”
they say, “and you, too, have come
into the world to do this, to go easy,
to be filled with light, and to shine.”

A morning musing from Mary Oliver’s, “When I Am Among Trees.”

It is certainly a poem dearest to my heart; one which so eloquently describes the energy of my trees. And, reminding me to go slowly, to breathe deeply…to stay awhile.

“They give off such hints of gladness.”

Oh, my goodness – my darlings, and then some.

For within even the most barren of branches lies an unmistakable assurance that we are loved.

That, we too, are here to shine.

The Colors of Our Soul.

Author Alan Watts once made the distinction, that we do not come ‘into’ this world; rather, we come ‘out’ of it.”

My darlings, do you know what this means?

It means, that every single soul on this earth is a magnificent expression of this Universe.

Just as the leaf finally breaks free of the tree to step into its autumn glow;

So, too, will our hearts find a way to let the soul’s truest colors come through.

We are not born into this world, my darlings. We are born of it.

One living, breathing, soul-stretching manifestation – of this, the sum total of the Universe.

 

WHEN I AM AMONG TREES

by Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks, and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”

The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,”
they say, “and you, too, have come
into the world to do this, to go easy,
to be filled with light, and to shine.”

This Path to Awakening.

“Soon you will notice how stones shine underfoot.
Eventually tides will be the only calendar you believe in…

And someone’s face, whom you love, will be as a star
Both intimate and ultimate,
And you will be heart-shaken and respectful.
And you will hear the air itself, like a beloved whisper:

‘Oh let me, for a while longer, enter the two
Beautiful bodies of your lungs…’

Look, and look again.
This world is not just a little thrill for your eyes.

It’s more than bones.
It’s more than the delicate wrist with its personal pulse.
It’s more than the beating of a single heart.
It’s praising.
It’s giving until the giving feels like receiving.

You have a life – just imagine that!
You have this day, and maybe another, and maybe
Still another…

We do one thing or another; we stay the same or we change.
Congratulations if you have changed.

Let me ask you this.
Do you also think that beauty exists for some fabulous reason?

And if you have not been enchanted by this adventure—your life—
what would do for you?

Since then I have gone out from my confinements, though with difficulty

I mean the ones that are thought to rule my heart.
I cast them out, I put them on the mush pile.
They will be nourishment somehow (everything is nourishment somehow or another).

And I have become the child of the clouds, and of hope.
I have become the friend of the enemy, whoever that is.
I have become older and, cherishing what I have learned,
I have become younger.

And what do I risk to tell you this, which is all I know?
Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world” ― Mary Oliver

My darlings, perhaps one of my most favorite poems from author, Mary Oliver – and, capturing so eloquently our place in this life.

Whether it’s the sweetness of a hummingbird pausing just a moment longer, or the thrilling contrast of sunflowers against the far off black oaks…her imagery has the power to captivate, and steal even the most hardened heart away.

[blockquote]And you will hear the air itself, like a beloved whisper…”[/blockquote]

Indeed, to escape the limits of these self-imposed confinements – to disentangle ourselves from the threadings of these ‘hooks’ – is, to finally be at one with this world.

To cast away that which is thought to rule our heart, in place of an open-minded wonderment.

When we are able to observe deeply in this way – our connection to this world becomes unbreakable.

My darlings, this is the path to our spiritual awakening; and this…is the true heart of the bodhisattva warrior.

And what do I risk to tell you this, which is all I know?
Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world”

“Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.”

One of my most favorite passages from poet, Mary Oliver – whose words capture so brilliantly the beauty of this natural world.

Whether it’s the sweetness of a hummingbird pausing just a moment longer, or the thrilling contrast of sunflowers against the far off black oaks…her imagery has the power to captivate, and steal even the most hardened heart away.

“Most mornings I’m up to see the sun, and that rising of the light moves me very much, and I’m used to thinking and feeling in words, so it sort of just happens. I think one thing is that prayer has become more useful, interesting, fruitful, and … almost involuntary in my life,” she says. “And when I talk about prayer, I mean really … what Rumi says in that wonderful line, ‘there are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.'”

I, too, and moved by the morning light. And, like her, my spirit has been immeasurably moved by these instances where the earth becomes the divine.

My dears, when we are able to observe deeply in this way – our connection to this world becomes unbreakable.

It’s been said that poet Mary Oliver “stands quite comfortably on the margins of things, on the line between earth and sky, the thin membrane that separates human from what we loosely call animal.”

And, I, could think of no better tribute.

My dears, on this day – I invite you to share in the love of her words.

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“Eat bread and understand comfort.
Drink water, and understand delight.
Visit the garden where the scarlet trumpets
are opening their bodies for the hummingbirds
who are drinking the sweetness, who are
thrillingly gluttonous.

For one thing leads to another.
Soon you will notice how stones shine underfoot.
Eventually tides will be the only calendar you believe in.

And you will hear the air itself, like a beloved, whisper
Oh let me, for a while longer, enter the two
Beautiful bodies of your lungs…

The witchery of living
is my whole conversation
with you, my darlings.
All I can tell you is what I know.

Look, and look again.
This world is not just a little thrill for your eyes.

It’s more than bones.
It’s more than the delicate wrist with its personal pulse.
It’s more than the beating of a single heart.
It’s praising.
It’s giving until the giving feels like receiving.
You have a life–just imagine that!
You have this day, and maybe another, and maybe
still another…

We do one thing or another; we stay the same, or we
change.
Congratulations, if
you have changed.

Let me ask you this.
Do you also think that beauty exists for some
fabulous reason?
And, if you have not been enchanted by this adventure–
your life–
what would do for you?

What I loved in the beginning, I think, was mostly myself.
Never mind that I had to, since somebody had to.
That was many years ago.
Since then I have gone out from my confinements,
though with difficulty.
I mean the ones that thought to rule my heart.
I cast them out; I put them on the mush pile.
They will be nourishment somehow (everything is nourishment
somehow or another).

And I have become the child of the clouds, and of hope.
I have become the friend of the enemy, whoever that is.
I have become older and, cherishing what I have learned,
I have become younger.

And what do I risk to tell you this, which is all I know?
Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world. ”

― Mary Oliver, Evidence: Poems