A friend sent the following poem to me today. It lists many of the labels we use to introduce ourselves. I began listing mine but stopped counting at around twenty. The poet asks us to consider suspending usage of the labels in order to focus on the beauty of the present moment.
And just now, looking out the window I saw my son-in-law and grandson digging for worms in the vegetable patch. As I watched the father and child feed worms to the chickens I knew that this was what Susan Glassmeyer is guiding me toward as the "one small thing that cost us nothing but our attention."
The photos capture the "something simple that nourished my soul" today.
Fredrick showing me the worm his dad has unearthed.
Introductions
Let's not say our names
or what we do for a living.
If we are married
and how many times.
Single, gay, or vegan.
Let's not mention
how far we got in school.
Who we know,
what we're good at
or no good at, at all.
Let's not hint at
how much money we have
or how little.
Where we go to church
or that we don't.
What our Sun Sign is
our Enneagram number
our personality type according to Jung
or whether we've ever been
Rolfed, arrested, psychoanalyzed,
or artificially suntanned.
Where we go to church
or that we don't.
What our Sun Sign is
our Enneagram number
our personality type according to Jung
or whether we've ever been
Rolfed, arrested, psychoanalyzed,
or artificially suntanned.
Let's refrain, too, from stating any ills.
What meds we're on
including probiotics.
How many surgeries we've survived
or our children’s children's problems.
And, please—
let's not mention
who we voted for
in the last election.
What meds we're on
including probiotics.
How many surgeries we've survived
or our children’s children's problems.
And, please—
let's not mention
who we voted for
in the last election.
Let's do this instead:
Let's start by telling
just one small thing
that costs us nothing
but our attention.
Let's start by telling
just one small thing
that costs us nothing
but our attention.
Something simple
that nourishes
the soul of our bones.
How it was this morning
stooping to pet the sleeping dog's muzzle
before going off to work.
that nourishes
the soul of our bones.
How it was this morning
stooping to pet the sleeping dog's muzzle
before going off to work.
Or
yesterday,
walking in the woods
spotting that fungus on the stump
of a maple
so astonishingly orange
it glowed like a lamp.
yesterday,
walking in the woods
spotting that fungus on the stump
of a maple
so astonishingly orange
it glowed like a lamp.
Or just now,
the sound
of your
own breath
rising
or sinking
at the end
of this
sentence.
-- Susan Glassmeyer
the sound
of your
own breath
rising
or sinking
at the end
of this
sentence.
-- Susan Glassmeyer
action shot of Fredrick offering the worm.
Chickens and small boys move fast!
happy chickens
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