Our Precious Life

I noticed a quote by Mary Oliver on the front page of our Interfaith newsletter recently: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” This quote is the last two lines from her poem, The Summer Day. It brings comfort to me to know that there is a part of me that identifies with the wildness in every one of us since I feel like I was raised in the woods by the divine spirits of God in the animals, trees, and flowers that surrounded me on the farm where I grew up. So much of my life these days seems so repetitive: doing the same things, eating the same breakfast, and also, unfortunately, maybe thinking the same thoughts. Yet I know there is still a child in me that loves to play, and maybe now that I am older, I am even somewhat more willing to express that part of myself because l care less about what anyone thinks of me than in my earlier days. I don’t know why it seems to take a lifetime to let go of some kind of personal embarrassment.

Back to the poem and our precious lives, and finding joy in small moments, exploring the wonder and beauty of it all. Are we thinking about what really matters since it is easy enough to see how everything changes and eventually dies? The purple violets were particularly thick this year in the lawn; I took some time to lay down in them, even though I knew it would be hard to get up. The blossoms are all gone now. If they bloomed all summer, I would not have appreciated them nearly as much.

Let’s not waste any time regretting what we have not done. We are all doing our best according to our own understanding and life lived so far. We can do what we want while harming none and make the most of what we have desire to do and to be. The Spirit of Love in our lives gives us permission to be as wild and free as we can and still do what needs to be done, each of us with our own sense of beauty and balance. Be happy, love everyone.

We are indeed Blessed as One.

Annie