and we know in our hearts…
I have dreamed
of accomplishment.
I have fed
ambition.
I have traded
nights of sleep
for a length of work.
Lo, and I have discovered
how soft bloom
turns to green fruit
which turns to sweet fruit.
Lo, and I have discovered
all winds blow cold
at last,
and the leaves,
so pretty, so many,
vanish
in the great, black
packet of time,
in the great, black
packet of ambition,
and the ripeness
of the apple
is its downfall.
……Mary Oliver
this is the stripping-down-life…..the call to wonderment….the guage of a life somewhere in between the wanting and the doing……
In our journey through time, we all struggle constantly with what to bring along & what to leave behind. It feels so hard to throw anything away, but if we don’t, we will drown underneath a weight of our own making. The river doesn’t own the water that rushes by, yet it couldn’t be in more intimate relationship to it as the force of what moves through shapes it. It is the same with everything we love. In truth, there is no point to holding on to the deepest things that matter, for they have already shaped us…..Mark Nepo
this movement of life, circular & visceral, suggests we seek promises more real than the eternity within the cycles of our life…..yet, when we embrace the essential & let go of the headlong slam of control, ‘it’ all eases & contours easily to the actual shape of our life…..let it be….
Hi ,
I have nominated you for the Sisterhood Award.
http://seasonspoetry.com/2012/08/28/the-sisterhood-award/
Ciao,
Francina
Have a peaceful Day!
Much appreciated…..https://makebelieveboutique.com/2012/12/09/blogger-awards/
This poem by Mary Oliver is so real, it brings tears to my eyes. Yes, we never stand in the same river twice… And so true that we should not hold on to things, the clay pot does not hold the potters hands, and yet retains its form through the fire…
The potters wheel is a beautiful visual poem…..a bittersweet love story to life…..your heartfelt emotion is contagious g.f.s…..
Reblogged this on grandfathersky and commented:
If you don’t visit “Make Believe Boutique” I strongly suggest it. Please take a moment to read today’s post it is especially meaningful …
so kind……humbly & warmly grateful…..
letting go is the hardest act
until we do it
then we stand a little taller because the weight
of what didn’t fit (no matter how many ways we tried to make it fit)
has been lifted
Beautiful ….a wonderful way to start the beginning of stepping outside to work in my gardens
Thank you ( and GFS for pointing me again in the direction I needed to see)
Take Care…
)0(
maryrose
a heartfelt knowing…..I can feel the burdens easing….funny how we need to hold on to all that weight…..so much fear…feel the cool dark earth and remember to breathe…..thanks for journeying….Blessings….
IB, thank you for this post…we control nothing in life, but how we flow. I deal day in day out with folk buckling under the weight of their burdens..when we can let go, we have taken the shape meant and we continue to flow. Great post my friend 😀 x
Such an important observation that we take the shape we were meant…then we flow….these little reminders & urgings are so cogent, urgent & real…many blessings Jane…..
I love Mary Oliver’s work. Thank you for posting.
she has that little way of leading us on a journey I think….glad you enjoy….thank you Rick…
good one… love the Mary Oliver… the great black packet of time….yes indeed.
she lays it all gently, yet it lands ripe & raw……love her too…..thank you…..
I adore Mary Oliver….she speaks my word….and yes, we control nothing we think we need to control!
her call to honor the flow of life is so visionary…..ambition has no place to roost here……thanks for sharing…..
Letting go of “the controls” and letting the Master Pilot fly our lives is the wisest decision we can make. Wonderful expression of this here! Thank you.
funny how we fight ourselves…..funny how hard on ourselves we are…..thank you for the reminder to give it up to our higher power as the ultimate act of deep faith…..thank you granbee….