I watched the national news on Wednesday. Boy, was that a bad idea. For 30 minutes, I was assaulted by terrorists, poisoned by a justice of the peace and haunted by a young boy, suddenly deaf, who only wanted his dad to take him home now.
Nothing seemed simple this week.
And yet. . . .
Lest we think that "simple" just melts away, there it is, tucked into a forgotten corner, covered by the dust of the moment, which seems so much more dire, so complicated, so here and now.
This was a good week to sit under a strong, old tree and feel its resilience. To know that its roots, like fingers hidden underground, reach out, always looking for a cool, long drink of water.
We could all use a cool, long drink of water right now.
And so, I try my best to get "simple" again, to focus on the essence, rather than the esoteric. Who needs exotica when spring lurks just underneath the surface? What I need right now--what we all need--is for one, brilliant grape hyacinth to poke its crazy beautiful head above the ground and shout out "I am HERE, dammit!"
Today, I need my brood close by, so that I might run my fingers through their too-long hair, comforted by the steadiness of DNA, its magical message holding us close together. I need fresh air and bird song, a rabbit standing vigilant in my garden, readying itself for the sharp-shinned hawk that circles above.
I need this beautiful, complicated, natural world to cycle its way through me, like blood, oblivious to the hardness of the past week. I need good books, great songs, brave students, soulful encounters.
I need the cleansing qualities of all that is simple and pure. The basics, if you will. The beautiful bottom of my pyramid, so that I might build something good upon it.
Like a life worth living.
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