Sunday and a new perspective...

The first flowers to grace the new island counter–peonies.  
I'm still in the midst of a bit of renovation mess and frustrated by delays and mishaps, but then today I happened to notice this still life comprised simply of these floral beauties, a stack of dinner plates waiting to be put away and the remains of our Sunday morning tradition–cappuccinos and chocolate croissants.  Just the few moments it took me to grab my camera and capture this transported me to another state of being far away from renovation woes and to-do lists.  —My own little island sanctuary you might say.  :)

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Peonies

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready

to break my heart

as the sun rises, 

as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

and they open —

pools of lace, 

white and pink —

and all day the black ants climb over them, 

boring their deep and mysterious holes

into the curls, 

craving the sweet sap, 

taking it away

to their dark, underground cities —

and all day

under the shifty wind, 

as in a dance to the great wedding, 

the flowers bend their bright bodies, 

and tip their fragrance to the air, 

and rise, 

their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness 

gladly and lightly, 

and there it is again — 

beauty the brave, the exemplary, 

blazing open. 

Do you love this world? 

Do you cherish your humble and silky life? 

Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath? 

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden, 

and softly, 

and exclaiming of their dearness, 

fill your arms with the white and pink flowers, 

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling, 

their eagerness

to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are

nothing, forever?

~Mary Oliver

(us)

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December 31st, Reflection and Introspection

I remember a letter my Grandma wrote where she described the seasons as climbing a hill, with the peak as December 31st —New Years Eve.  She said that's how she has always seen it in her mind's eye.  I realized then that I had always visualized the passing year as a circular path.  I don't picture it as a climb up, but more like a traversing around.  Until my Grandma's letter, I hadn't really thought about it before, at least not processing it on a conscious level like that.  But the picture came to mind immediately and I recognized it as familiar to me as anything I know.

It led me to think about how different we all are and how we are often operating with an unconscious filtering system that may or may not be serving us very well.  We are limited to our own perspective until there is some impetus, some "nudge" to look at things differently.  I love these kind of reality shakers;  – where our awareness is awakened and expanded.  Those, "I hadn't thought of that before" moments.

"You don't know, what you don't know,"  comes to mind.  Operating in our usual mode of operation with our interior control panel set on "default" we may miss opportunities to broaden our horizons.  However, the more we communicate and share with others with an open heart and open mind, the more we expand and grow.  That's an exciting proposition to me and explains why I have such a love for travel and for interacting with people in this forum.     

I'm very grateful for the world we live in where we have the ability to reach out to others around the globe.  Unlike any other time before us, we have the tools to learn from myriads of people, cultures and life experiences.  ...Sometimes we find someone who is similar to us and we can celebrate and expand on shared values....Other times, we find someone with different ideas and ways of looking at things and we are gifted the opportunity for growth and expansion. —A new jumping-off point for creating beyond what we alone could conceive.

I  have enjoyed these past few months sharing and learning with all my fellow bloggers and readers around the world.  As we embark on the new year together, I raise my glass in gratitude and send you my very best wishes:

Here's to the new year and perpetual expansion!  

Cheers! 

Photograph:  Côté Sud Dec 2000-Jan 2001

linen & lavender

see our new site:
www.linenlavenderlife.com