What we appreciate appreciates.
Brother David Steindl-Rast
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life.
"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought for a moment then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
"The one we feed", the old Cherokee replied.
ADVICE TO MYSELF
Leave the dishes. Let the celery rot in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator
and an earthen scum harden on the kitchen floor.
Leave the black crumbs in the bottom of the toaster.
Throw the cracked bowl out and don’t patch the cup.
Don’t patch anything. Don’t mend. Buy safety pins.
Don’t even sew on a button.
Let the wind have its way, then the earth
that invades as dust and then the dead
foaming up in gray rolls underneath the couch.
Talk to them. Tell them they are welcome.
Don’t keep all the pieces of the puzzles
or the doll’s tiny shoes in pairs, don’t worry
who uses whose toothbrush or if anything
matches, at all.
Except one word to another. Or a thought.
Pursue the authentic—decide first
what is authentic,
then go after it with all your heart.
Your heart, that place
you don’t even think of cleaning out.
That closet stuffed with savage mementos.
Don’t sort the paper clips from screws from saved baby teeth
or worry if we’re all eating cereal for dinner
again. Don’t answer the telephone, ever,
or weep over anything at all that breaks.
Pink molds will grow within those sealed cartons
in the refrigerator. Accept new forms of life
and talk to the dead
who drift in through the screened windows, who collect
patiently on the tops of food jars and books.
Recycle the mail, don’t read it, don’t read anything
except what destroys
the insulation between yourself and your experience
or what pulls down or what strikes at or what shatters
this ruse you call necessity.
*
I appreciate you, friends.
Joy to you & Happy Thanksgiving
XO
Thankful for our friendship, Claire. xxoo
ReplyDeleteMe, too, T - a steady place in an unsteady world. xo
DeleteEven though we are continents apart, the ocean connects us (as you so ofen remind us) and I do consider you a friend - and hope we meet one day! Enjoy your thanksgiving - which we of course don't celebrate here in South Africa, but perhaps should - one can never be grateful enough for all of life's blessings. xo
ReplyDeleteP.S. Your photographs take my breath away!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Claire. The pictures are gorgeous and nourishing.
ReplyDeleteThere are too many distractions that can be mistaken for bearings. Staying true with as little wobbling as possible, now there's a task. With thanks for you, for always sending us in the direction we need, for feeding us with what we may not have known we craved. xoxo
ReplyDelete