All this cleaning-out going on, everywhere! Not a room untouched, a box unopened, not a paper unread, or a dust-bunny undisturbed. This is unsettling.
The Blue Bird box is cleaned. The back porch swept. The ashes out. The studio tidied, dusted, re-arranged somewhat. A box from the storage unit emptied, right down to the layer of pretty rocks on the bottom.
Rejuvenating. Restorative. Transformational.
Of the many gifts in living in N. California: February is the month of ripening citrus. Oh! Afternoon light dancing through the orange tree highlighting the fruit, a blatant invitation to indulge in juicy tart sweetness.
Daffodil spears are pushing up through the leaf mulch. It is late January, after all, the Paper Whites are almost done! Black lambs are racing around in the tender green grass! The sky today, regardless of that strong cold breeze, is as blue as possible.
I have been turning the mulch. Having ordered and received my new panels (5' X 5' made of Balkan plywood for strength and lightness) there is work to be done in the studio. Surfaces to clear, paintings to move, shelves to tidy. In the midst of this process I lost it. Haha. To be expected, perhaps, with breathing in the dust and stories of "stuff"and sunlight muted by winter-spotted windows. Yesterday it hit me that actually, I am not an artist, nor am I a writer. I have no career, education or accomplishments. Life is meaningless. Yesterday I did not see this as a gift. I fell face-first into the mulchy hole.
Later in the evening, when I settled into my chair to watch the Dog Whisperer, I noticed the agreed-upon-box-from-the-storage-unit perched upon the dog crate in front of the damm TV. No choice (haha) but to go through it, like I've agreed to do.
That Box: OMyGod. What a box, even though deceptively small. Yes, it was a box of destiny. Past. Passed. It contained letters, journals, sketch books. It contained misery, destruction, heartbreak and failures. It contained frustration, rage, disappointment and fear. It contained my worst fears. Every one of them.
I sorted the contents one by one. I read the letters. I looked at the sketches. I made decisions: I keep this drawing and throw away the rest. I put books into another box for Goodwill. I put 10 pounds of Court Papers into the recycle bin. I burned the letters. Something wonderful started to happen, but I didn't know what it was.
I felt a feeling of emptiness filling me up.
For months I have not been able to find my friend Hafiz! The Gift was in plain sight, I just could not see it. Home again, next to my laptop, my all time favorite book smiles. We are back in business!
All is possible. Hafiz says "Hidden's Tavern," Emily Dickinson calls them "possibles." Each day presents them, each breath enlivens them. Each word represents them. Each action fulfills them.
All is possible. All is well.
I love you.
xoxo
LPC
The Blue Bird box is cleaned. The back porch swept. The ashes out. The studio tidied, dusted, re-arranged somewhat. A box from the storage unit emptied, right down to the layer of pretty rocks on the bottom.
Rejuvenating. Restorative. Transformational.
Of the many gifts in living in N. California: February is the month of ripening citrus. Oh! Afternoon light dancing through the orange tree highlighting the fruit, a blatant invitation to indulge in juicy tart sweetness.
Daffodil spears are pushing up through the leaf mulch. It is late January, after all, the Paper Whites are almost done! Black lambs are racing around in the tender green grass! The sky today, regardless of that strong cold breeze, is as blue as possible.
I have been turning the mulch. Having ordered and received my new panels (5' X 5' made of Balkan plywood for strength and lightness) there is work to be done in the studio. Surfaces to clear, paintings to move, shelves to tidy. In the midst of this process I lost it. Haha. To be expected, perhaps, with breathing in the dust and stories of "stuff"and sunlight muted by winter-spotted windows. Yesterday it hit me that actually, I am not an artist, nor am I a writer. I have no career, education or accomplishments. Life is meaningless. Yesterday I did not see this as a gift. I fell face-first into the mulchy hole.
Later in the evening, when I settled into my chair to watch the Dog Whisperer, I noticed the agreed-upon-box-from-the-storage-unit perched upon the dog crate in front of the damm TV. No choice (haha) but to go through it, like I've agreed to do.
That Box: OMyGod. What a box, even though deceptively small. Yes, it was a box of destiny. Past. Passed. It contained letters, journals, sketch books. It contained misery, destruction, heartbreak and failures. It contained frustration, rage, disappointment and fear. It contained my worst fears. Every one of them.
I sorted the contents one by one. I read the letters. I looked at the sketches. I made decisions: I keep this drawing and throw away the rest. I put books into another box for Goodwill. I put 10 pounds of Court Papers into the recycle bin. I burned the letters. Something wonderful started to happen, but I didn't know what it was.
I felt a feeling of emptiness filling me up.
The Mule Got Drunk and Lost In Heaven
The
Mind is ever a tourist
Wanting to touch and buy new things
Then toss them into an already
Filled closet.
So I craft my words into those guides
That will offer you something fresh
From the Hidden's Tavern.
Few things are stronger than
The mind's need for diverse
Experience.
I am glad
Not many men or women can remain
Faithful lovers to the unreal.
There is a kind of adultery
That God encourages:
Your spirit needs to leave the bed
Of fear.
The gross, the subtle, the mental worlds
Become as a worthless husband.
Women need
To utilize their superior intelligence
About love
So that their hour's legacy
Can make us all stronger and more clement.
Sometimes a poem happens like this one:
The mule I sit on while I recite
Starts off in one direction
But then gets drunk
And lost in
Heaven.
Hafiz
For months I have not been able to find my friend Hafiz! The Gift was in plain sight, I just could not see it. Home again, next to my laptop, my all time favorite book smiles. We are back in business!
All is possible. Hafiz says "Hidden's Tavern," Emily Dickinson calls them "possibles." Each day presents them, each breath enlivens them. Each word represents them. Each action fulfills them.
All is possible. All is well.
I love you.
xoxo
LPC
2 comments:
Ahhh! Glad to see you hard at work making space for the next possibilities to arrive. And Hafiz is back! We will all be the beneficiaries. x0x0 N2
Even though I try really hard, I just don't get Hafiz. Perhaps I'm trying too hard.
That thing you wrote about "not being" - that was just a dust-filled brain talking, right? Cause I beg to differ with you. I do, however, know how too much cleaning, sorting, and organizing can wear one down. Sounds like you need a bite of a sun-ripened orange while sitting next to a daffodil bloom!
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