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.
Mary Oliver, from Mornings at Blackwater
photo of the River Barrow at Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, May 18th 2015.
Never forget that every mind is shaped by the most ordinary experiences.
To say that something is ordinary is to say that it is of the kind that has made the biggest contribution to the formation of your most basic ideas
Paul Valéry, French poet and philosopher, 1871 – 1945
photo jorge royan
In almost every tradition there are tales of gods appearing in the guise of ordinary visitors. In the Hebrew Scriptures, Abraham looked up and saw three men standing near. He welcomed them, not knowing they were angels. Here Mary Oliver tells of a similar story from Ancient Greece. The key is paying attention, which allows us see the riches in everyday occurrences. In this way some people show “hospitality to angels without knowing it”
In Greece,
a long time ago,
an old couple
opened their door
to two strangers
who were,
it soon appeared,
not men at all,
but gods.
It is my favorite story –
how the old couple
had almost nothing to give
but their willingness
to be attentive –
but for this alone
the gods loved them
and blessed them –
when they rose
out of their mortal bodies,
like a million particles of water
from a fountain,
the light
swept into all the corners
of the cottage,
and the old couple,
shaken with understanding,
bowed down –
but still they asked for nothing
but the difficult life
which they had already.
And the gods smiled, as they vanished,
clapping their great wings.
from Mary Oliver, Mockingbirds
Patience is the ability to watch something until it changes.
Ajahn Sucitto
photo Benson kua
Whatever happens. Whatever
what is is is what
I want. Only that. But that.
Galway Kinnell, Prayer
photo thomas brown
I look;
Morning to night I am never done with looking.
Looking, I mean not just standing around,
but standing around
as though with your arms open.
Mary Oliver, Where does the Temple Begin, Where does it End?
