not half a life.
~Khalil Gibran
Instructions on Not Giving Up
by Ada Limon
More than the fuchsia funnels breaking out
of the crabapple tree, more than the neighbor’s
almost obscene display of cherry limbs shoving
their cotton candy-colored blossoms to the slate
sky of Spring rains, it’s the greening of the trees
that really gets to me. When all the shock of white
and taffy, the world’s baubles and trinkets, leave
the pavement strewn with the confetti of aftermath,
the leaves come. Patient, plodding, a green skin
growing over whatever winter did to us, a return
to the strange idea of continuous living despite
the mess of us, the hurt, the empty. Fine then,
I’ll take it, the tree seems to say, a new slick leaf
unfurling like a fist to an open palm, I’ll take it all.
Even a wounded world is feeding us.
Even a wounded world holds us,
giving us moments of wonder and joy.
I choose joy over despair, not because
I have my head in the sand, but because
joy is what the earth gives me daily
and I must return the gift.
- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
“The problem when you are a strong, capable, self-confident person, is that more often than not, people think that you don't really need things like comfort, reassurance, loyalty and guidance. People are more likely to look at you and say, "She doesn't need this", "She doesn't need that", "She's already all of this and all of that". But then the truth is that most probably, you are a strong, capable, self-confident person because you built yourself brick-by-brick into that person; because you HAD to BECOME that person; because you had determination enough to make yourself into the image that you knew you needed to become. At the heart of many strong, confident people, is a heart most longing of the things that most others simply take for granted.” C. JoyBell C.
i love holiday light displays. i appreciate that viewing meadowlark's holiday display has been a steady fixture each year for me; i wonder if i have seen it every year since moving to virginia a decade ago. my companions change - most times with family but many times with friends along, too.
this year, it was just me and ander. we got chicken and waffle fries from hangry joe's, listened to the wall-e soundtrack, and took our time going in. on new year's eve and the weather was perfect and the attendees were sparse. no lines, no waiting, no rushing, no crying.
some displays have changed, but many remain the same; i think i like those the best. with that familiarity comes comfort and ease; fond nostalgic memories enhanced in and by their retelling.
steady
word of intention for 2024
steady
adjective:
