How necessary it is to have opinions! I think the spotted trout
lilies are satisfied, standing a few inches above the earth. I
think serenity is not something you just find in the world,
like a plum tree, holding up its white petals.

The violets, along the river, are opening their blue faces, like
small dark lanterns.

The green mosses, being so many, are as good as brawny.

How important it is to walk along, not in haste but slowly,
looking at everything and calling out

Yes! No! The

swan, for all his pomp, his robes of grass and petals, wants
only to be allowed to live on the nameless pond. The catbrier
is without fault. The water thrushes, down among the sloppy
rocks, are going crazy with happiness. Imagination is better
than a sharp instrument. To pay attention, this is our endless
and proper work. (emphasis added by Attention to Life)

— from White Pine: Poems and Prose Poems, by Mary Oliver

Becoming Perceptive · Words

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 Anne DoyleLeave a comment

WILD GEESE by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Love

Kitty

April 1, 2019April 4, 2019 Anne DoyleLeave a comment

Kitty has been puny so had to fast then go to the vet for a blood test. It wasn’t pleasant for him but he did well. Hopefully he’s on the road to recovery now.

Foods

Dinner March 31, 2019

March 31, 2019April 4, 2019 Anne DoyleLeave a comment

Vegetable (cauliflower, celerey, onion, red pepper, turnip )and tofu curry with rice topped with cilantro

Becoming Perceptive · Words

Wabi Sabi

March 31, 2019 Anne DoyleLeave a comment

“Nature is the home of miracles. Complex growth, stories of resilience, ephemeral beauty emerging and evaporating. When we take time to stop and look, each one of these gifts reminds us to pay attention to the fleeting beauty of our own lives.”

–from Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life, Beth Kempton, 2018

Foods