Remember





I was driving, at night, down a country road into a lit street; the dashboard lights had broken so I was keen to check fuel levels and such: when I saw the rain, the uncountable droplets, the illusion of steadiness - had I never seen this before? 

It seemed not.
Silver streams hitting tarmac, splintering, glittering.
The light, the liquidity together formed something like a living jewel. 
And this merely part of a cycle, rain, surface water, evaporation, cloud, just how our planet pours with resources.
If you are chasing beauty, I think you will get lost. 
If your wealth can be scraped into a heap, made a throne of, I think you will be alone.
This is my status symbol - me in the rain being amazed - anyone can be here.
We can be amazed together.
All the way home I was driving, rapturous, a little bit cautious with the blanked out dash, in need of nothing. 

In need of nothing, but thinking still – of every sacrifice that it took to build this world in which I drive this car on this road, which deserves the dignity of official days, which we must never forget, and always count blessings, or at least begin to. 
Thinking still – how each life is a liberty to be lost or gained, and there is more to be done till we can stand on our one earth, at peace, truly in awe. We all could have true wealth, true beauty.
Remember, and act in accordance.

Comments

Chicken said…
Beautiful thoughts. I've had moments like this, too, when I am in the moment, looking around, and in awe of what I see. Too often we're just going through the motions.
11 November 2017 at 11:14
Harry Hamid said…
I need to remember this. I go through periods of time when it seems like there's no point, but that is the point: We're here to be amazed.
11 November 2017 at 13:50
Geo. said…
"Remember, and act in accordance." It's not everybody who gets me channeling Hamlet: "I shall in all my best obey you madam." (act 1, scene 2).
11 November 2017 at 23:31
Lisa Southard said…
Thank you Chicken :-) and yes, we all forget to appreciate at times xx
12 November 2017 at 20:10
Lisa Southard said…
100% mindfulness isn't the usual statistic, but as long as we do have and savour these moments, the stats get better :-) Thank you Harry xx
12 November 2017 at 20:19
Lisa Southard said…
I do a good bossy, every now and then :-) Your obedience is accepted with humble grace, Sir xx
12 November 2017 at 20:20
Susan Flett Swiderski said…
Your post reminds me of the fortune I got in my cookie at dinner tonight. It said something like, "You have the ability to see the beauty in ordinary things. It is a gift." And it IS a gift... which you obviously have. Seeing and appreciating the things around us with a sense of wonder feeds our contentment.
13 November 2017 at 02:43
Lisa Southard said…
That's a good fortune, and a gift I would bestow on everyone. You all ready got it :-)
15 November 2017 at 10:26
The Armchair Squid said…
It's an important holiday. Remember.
15 November 2017 at 18:36
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Contact Pants Conundrum

Image
There is weather today, I do note it: take a few moments to reckon the size of a cloud (big) and the frequency of rain (sporadic.) Centre of my interest though is a stack of magazines. Not the fashion kind. This is martial arts research. I'm not even sure what it is I'm looking for, but intuition calls loud. A range of old adverts skew some amusement. Contact pants, for example. Pants are not trousers where I come from. They are underwear. Professional contact pants: improved smirk value. But why would a person be likely to purchase a grappling hook and a lock pick set? For specialists and hobbyists only, the blurb assures. Guidance on the pheromone spray that attracts women against their better judgement? I doubt it works any more proficiently than the mysterious potion that defines your muscles while you sleep. But, then: I wonder is some sprayed on this paper? What was my intuition thinking, making this ghastly shout… Tea break time. There's a lot of words
Read more

A Candle Lit

Image
We live by the light of those we love, whether they are here or gone. That light is inextinguishable. To have the light and not the company is an adjustment process we call grief. Loss is a shadow, equal to the light. We adjust not to lose the shadow but to see both. Hard to bear - yet without darkness, light cannot show its full wonder. Let us look after each other, then, and value our days, our company, and live to leave vast shadows, and understand that pain is a strange gift, a tender, haunting, purposed gift. And if you are grieving: let your tears flow, let your anger shout, let yourself plead and deny and feel terrible: it is not an easy process.  Know that other people know grief.  Know that other people are hurt to see you grieve.  Know that love is a fundamental response. There is no time limit to this adjustment process. No right or wrong way to feel. One day you will stand back and see that the shadow is proof to the strength of the light, a
Read more

Spring Is Ticking

Image
It has been a while since I wrote a blog post - I have been writing books, and keeping a diary, the days and the work aren’t lost, just ticking quietly in a corner. [There’s a little dust in that corner but the shelf is made of strong oak planks, and the light is enchanting. A plant grows in a pot, it spouts leaves. A half candle stands in a china holder.] At Paddock Garden (properly titled Paddock Garden Orchards, I am a lazy typer) a tree corral has been constructed. It contains persimmons which may not have survived the recent cold blasts and heavy rain, along with some happy pepper trees, bladdernuts, and plum yews. We plan to underplant and interplant extensively in this concentrated area. Around the grounds also we have begun some windbreak hedges, mostly of elaeagnus and hazel. We have a line of sapling native oaks edging the spinney. The first of our camping bay areas is growing emerald grass that was seeded last autumn; the second has recently been seeded; the last three need
Read more