Those Barriers

"Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it." -- Rumi
 

Official spring is here, and with the unexpected summer-like warmth, the world has opened to us again, inviting us in, calling us outdoors. The heart throws wide its own doors and windows to the new scents and budding surprises. That hibernating part of us, curled in darkest dreaming, wants to stretch, to reach out and bask in the sunlight. To obey the invitation of birds, brook and breeze. To unfurl.

I took the photo on the 23rd. When I got up the next morning, I discovered my writer friend's Facebook post linking to Brain Pickings, with this quote as the opening. (Thank you Deborah Batterman!) Another invitation, another unfurling. Perfect.

YES (Again)!

Here we all are, at the last night of 2010. I have already been out for a sunny walk and late lunch with a friend and am waiting to go to a New Year's Eve / birthday party at another friend's house. It feels good to celebrate the changing year on the calendar, the changing year in my life. Tomorrow will be a fresh start.

Back in October, my poet friend Guy Reed described his wife Beth Humphrey's wonderful idea for each incoming year. "My wife, Beth, likes to pick a word for the year. Last year it was savor and we did. This year it is nest and we are doing that. It's amazing how well it has worked in our lives to pick an 'organizing' principle to shape the year." I love this idea! Looking ahead to 2011, two simple possibilities fluttered into my mind: yes and love. Another word came up at late lunch: open. Since love should always be the overlord of the days anyway, I select the word YES to carry me through 2011. To remind me to place yes before no, to be positive and compassionate -- and, yes, open to new ideas, friendships, adventures and possibilities. What's your word for the new year? Let me know, if you feel inspired to share. Happy New Year!

Thanks to Beth and Guy for giving me permission to mention Beth's idea and to quote Guy. The photo was taken this past summer at my cousin Laura's graduation party. Thanks for the festive lights, a perfect celebratory touch for this New Year's Eve as well!

That Dark and Twisted Little Laugh

Communication by e-mail and instant messaging can be the casual flounce of words screen to screen, ideas tossed lightly, loosely, telegraphically. The mediums seem to encourage the immediate and impulsive. Of course the words can also go deep and convey hard thought; the exchange can have the feeling of a serious conversation. The other day I received a wise and beautiful e-mail from a high school friend, Tom. Here's a brief excerpt:

... my learned lesson that I attempt to abide by these days is this: There are really only two things that for me warrant any prolonged concern - love and health. Everything else takes a distant back seat and ultimately is of fleeting value. This of course is not to say that other things aren't good, fun, sad, debilitating or something else; but they don't really alter life very much or at least should not be afforded the opportunity.

Here is part of my response:

I like your philosophy. Love and health. How about creativity/art (in the broadest, most inclusive sense)? What also surfaces in my mind: truth (yeah, even if it hurts), and, strangely, humor. Somehow the dark and twisted little laugh is what saves me again and again. I see a strong link between comedy and poetry ... they can work the same way. Metaphors and jokes ... think about it. Disparate things magically/absurdly linked. The way they cinch together the far edges of the universe. The way they turn things inside-out. The beautiful surprise of both. (Back in time, during an author interview, the interviewer asked me if there was anything I had left out in our discussion of poetry. Yes, humor! I've been meaning to revisit this topic on my blog. Maybe you've just helped me write the post.) How about Soul and Spirit? (Soulful and spirited?) Compassion? Yes, and hope, that flickering flashlight. And back to that word, magic. The sudden bursts of sparks in life. But I agree, love is the top item, and possibly the overlord of them all.

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Note: I decided not to edit this exchange, since in its direct and unpolished way, it conveys the ease of communication ... and tells the truth.

Tom's words were reprinted here with his permission. The photo of bark was taken up the hill from my house. Click on image to enlarge.