In his book, The Wisdom of Wilderness, Gerald May talks about “The Presence of Slowing.”
This presence cannot be grasped nor contained;
We cannot hold it for our own…
We can only be aware;
Watching…
Be ready to welcome;
Open to let this Presence wash over us…
Lean into its sanctuary…
And let it go
Mary Oliver’s words come to mind:
“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”
(from “Yes! No!”, Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Eassays
A misty sunrise in Cades Cove (Smoky Mountain National Park)…two friends out for a photo shoot! This was fun to watch and capture.
Inviting, the canopy of leaves and branches outside my window . . .
I wonder if Miss Maple would mind my sitting next to her today?
leaning against her trunk,
absorbing life into the fibers of who I am?
I wonder if she’d mind my lying within her sanctuary –-
soaking in sun and shade . . .
bathing my tired soul?
And if I dwell here today,
I wonder if she will whisper life’s most important secrets?
Wind rustles leaves . . .
I hear the conversation begin
Listen! It is not often one gets to hear such truth spoken . . .
For those who calm fears…
For those who provide a safe space in which to explore, discover, and grow…
For those who are there to encourage amid failures…
For those who believe in us when we are not sure we believe in us…
For those who are willing to let go so that we can fly…
Thank you!
She welcomed me morning after morning during her life.
Agitated walks anticipating endless hours ahead…
things to do – places to be;
Trying to live the future in the present births anxiety.
But the sight of her – adorning water-beaded jewelry –
called me back into the now;
mellowing my spirit…
clearing my crowded mind…
inviting me into the peace of the moment…
trees around me,
morning sun on my face,
cool breeze,
my dog Sammy rolling in the spring grass,
creation reveling…
A new day in which to flow:
beginning with living this moment…
then the next…
then the next…
Thank you Iris!
A descriptive moment:
A window into who I am – who we are…
illumination and darkness
cloudy and clear;
Yet, life still stirs underneath…
crashing and calm
The hope? Light continually, consistently rises into both…
producing hues beyond imagination –
no matter where we find ourselves.
(sunrise over Cape May, NJ)
