November 4th, 2012 5:22 p.m.
(had my mother lived this long she would have been 100! Happy Birthday, Mom!)
It is not yet 5:30 and the chickens
are already shut in for the night. Just now the Western sky is illuminated by
the last presence of a brilliant orange light filtering through the branches.
The trees are suddenly devoid of leaves, the result of the changing light,
falling temperatures and, of course, Hurricane Sandy who was just making landfall barely one week ago.
This time of year – with the light
fading so silently and so early in the evening- I feel myself cascading down into a warm womb encased by the
dark. Turning my gaze inward, I find
myself introspective. The world in front of the eyes is stark, perhaps to some
it appears bleak, yet inside the hearth fires are burning, creating a warm
welcome to come and sit a spell, to reminisce, to travel inward to retrieve and acknowledge the harvest, the
jewels of the year. It is a time for gathering and reckoning – what have we
gained and what have we lost? What needs keeping 'hold of and what needs letting
go? This is an important exercise for this time of the year, this end of day
light savings.
What needs keeping hold of? Well, for one thing, I have come 'round to the desire to re-engage with my blog, to share some of my writing(s) as well as some of the jewels I have discovered this year, 2012: articles, books,poems, (some my own, some by other)s, portions of journal entries, links, recipes, my own thoughts about this and that, in other words, Notes from the Garden and Other Thoughts.
I turned 60 this past April. In Chinese Medicine this turning (12 X 5 as in 5 seasons of the year with Late Summer being it's own season) is a very important event. For those of us turning 60 this year it is the year of the "Water Dragon". (more on this later). I decided to take this occasion of turning 60 seriously and put alot of thought into what this birthday means to me and what I want the next phase of mylife to look like. Over the next several months I intend to share what I've discovered with the hope that what has turned up for me will be beneficial to you.
For now I leave you with the words from Thich Nhat Hahn's Peace Is Every Step.
Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment!
Lovely image of the sunset and reflection on the darkening of these days before the Winter Solstice, Mary.
ReplyDeleteOur mother will be 85 this season on December 18. My sisters and brother have been taking turns being at her side as she keeps hold of her longest memories and lets go of more and more of the recent and most superficial chaff. Our middle sister, who for two years has daily been managing the flow of caregivers and seeing to her inclusion in Assisted Living of Hospice Care, arrived this morning to be with her for a few days.
Each morning before sunrise I wake up feeling as if I am breathing in to calm both of us, breathing out to smile and share the present moment of each remembered stroke, each call, each conversation, each turning of our wonder toward and away from each other; carrying both our Consciousness as one, just as she carried me in her womb and then in the safety of her protection, care, concern, coaching and challenge.
Once while I was by her side for several days in mid-October, I watched her turn to look over her right shoulder and speak in the third-person about me and my daughter whom we had just hung up with to someone I could not see. Her eyes were lit and her eyebrows animated as she continued to review the current events of my own and my daughter's life. Even while I reached and held her cheeks and told her I was right beside her, she kept her gaze to the right and continued sharing the details of our activities, hopes and dreams. Almost as if she has stepped past her own and carries ours with her into the Mystery.
Your writing brings that awesome, deep and still feeling of Winter. It is good to have that reminder in the whirl of seemingly constant activity! The photo is stunning. And so are your chickens; they are quite beautiful! The good care you give them shows.
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