Messenger

My work is loving the world…
there the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.
​
Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,
​
which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,
​
which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.​
​– “Messenger” by Mary Oliver

Don’t act your age!

“The advice shouldn’t be to act your age. It should be to act your spirit. Your age may try to prohibit you from dancing like that, or starting over, or trying something new. But your spirit would never do such a thing. If something feels aligned, your spirit wants you to go for it, whether you’re 15 or 85. Acting your age makes you fit in more, while acting your spirit will indeed cause you to stand out—in a bad way to people who act their age, but in an inspiring way to those who act their spirit. Try acting your spirit from time to time, and you can see for yourself which path makes you feel more alive.”

Source: Newsletter by Light Watkins.

Put your phone….down!

The great lie was that the little computers in our pockets would give us the ultimate freedom. But the problem with being able to be anywhere we want at any time is that we give up ever fully being where we actually are. We are perpetually both here and there which means we are always in between. Forever coming or going–never fully stopped; feet planted; feeling the earth beneath our toes. That’s real freedom. Not another notification for another new message on another app for another product we hope might make our lives better. We didn’t cut the cord when we chose cell phones. We became the cord. Forever tethered to a million places at once. Giving the whole world access to us on their schedule and at all times. We’ve been duped. Leave it in your room. Leave it in your car. Leave it on the charger. Leave it turned off. Leave it at home altogether.Maybe not always. But far more often than we usually do. We have the keys to our own handcuffs. We just have to have the guts to use them. If this makes you anxious–good. Me too. Let’s do hard things together.Freedom is on the other side. Real freedom. The kind that makes us feel more human and connected and alive. — Chris Field