Thank you God for this soft rain,
For these green trees
And the faraway train.
For this dog curled
And my shortbread and tea,
For the lover who brought them both to me.
Thank you God for my body and heart
In the Fall of my life that can feel like Spring.
How, I wonder, can this day begin
With such small blessings in this year of fear?
In this hellish year of demise and fear,
In this year that is Godforsaken not at all.
Nina Naomi
I love my weather app. Our temperature is always about the same as in Rome. High there today 86° F. No coliseum here or motor bike rush hour; no il primo pasta course or il secondo meat or fish course. No house Montepulciano. But we do have similar weather.
London, where I wish I could live one month (or more) out of every twelve, is pretty dreary weather-wise. Mostly wet or less wet. Sun at around 3 p.m. Although right now late afternoon it's 64°F with blue skies. Really lovely for London. Even with the pandemic Londoners must be enjoying their outdoor cafes. Somehow the weather seems irrelevant when we're there. Some places we love rain or shine don't we?
In Keswick, England, a market town on a tranquil lake called Derwentwater, it's raining and 51°F. No doubt it feels colder. We spent one glorious chilly week there in full rain gear tracking down a stone circle from the Neolithic era. After a long hike we found out we could have taken a tourist bus. So glad we didn't! I've got exuberant video of sheep clambering on the stones, their bleating outdone only by the relentless wind.
And it's always fun to check Fairbanks, Alaska. Right now it is 43°F in Fairbanks. Not bad at all. (Post: "Slow Journeying Through Alaska," 9/9/17) When I check the weather in places I've been or lived it brings back memories. Living in London where our daughter was born; a wonderful visit to here or there; a sabbatical year . . . . I know we can't travel right now, but I've enjoyed weather browsing for years. It's not just pandemic-yearning, though there is some of that I'm sure.
Maybe the pleasure springs from the miracle of nature, the changing seasons and the beauty of the world. Maybe a small detail like the weather in Yellowstone National Park (Post: "Adventure Therapy," 3/31/17) sparks the imagination. Or Bryce Canyon, Utah (Posts: "About Awe," 10/18-20/19) where the temperature swings 40 degrees in a day!
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| Bryce Canyon |
It's a good hobby. A simple pleasure.
Nina Naomi
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| Isabel Allende (b. 1942) |
In the song of what's simple but true,
Bent tree rubbing at my window,
I go out. The meadow drenched rivulets of bog.
Moss to my ankles, bright. Toes, shoes, socks all wet flecked.
It might seem ordinary but is not.
The smallest details of living
Need nothing but appreciation
For the candor they bring.
N.N.
All Nights are not the Same
What can we accept about ourselves?
As I sit here at 11 pm I love myself,
My body which feels small,
My heart and mind,
My sore left foot.
Foot, you are mine.
I shan't feel guilty about how I spend my time.
Let's not. Let's ever not.
Emotions and thoughts we'd rather not have? They're OK today.
I do pretty well at living. God has given me that.
The amber sunrise, an azure sky.
No more precious than we.
N.N.
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| Homemade Masks Drying |
Here is where I am now. I live in a peaceful place. I sleep in a comfortable bed. I eat healthy food and some not. I swim in a small pool and stack brush in a large woods.I care for people deeply. At night my bed is full of love because I have been married a long time. I feel anxious and comforted, sad and happy. I am both empty and full. In the morning I step outside and am thankful for another glorious day. Such a life has taken years.
N.N.
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Yesterday the waves were wild and the sea oats almost horizontal.
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Too windy to bike ride but a good shelling day. I got my usual quota of augers, those sweet little cork-screw shells that lie on top of shell pools when the tide goes out. And olives, thumb-sized cylinders--from a baby's thumb to a large adult's--with a lovely patina of mostly geometric designs. (On the other hand, they do cover their tiny prey in slimy mucus and smother them.)
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| Broken sand dollars, calico scallops |
Mr. Wiggles was decent on his walks. He didn't make a fool of himself with any of the other dogs. One woman seeing him pee at every home on the route said, "The boss is in town!" I liked that. A man on his phone gave a look and said, "Killer." Our little maltipoo seems to elicit sarcasm.
Today at high tide the sand and sea and sky are one. Eastern North Carolina is just one big dripping puddle. No sun, no cloud differentiation, no horizon. Just a pool of gray. I don't have a good picture because there's nothing to see. Somehow it doesn't matter. This is still good sheltering.
River, lake, pond, ocean, creek. . . . Is it because our bodies are about 65% water? Is that why we are drawn to it? I wonder. We hike miles to glimpse a waterfall. Riverside and lakefront property with access or a view is so desirable. And who doesn't love a boat ride? Or paddle-boarding. Well, maybe not everyone, but we love doing something in the water. My husband loves fishing. The kids a water park. Or a puddle. Anything you can wade in. Where I grew up there was a sewer we called a creek; we loved jumping it it, over it, around it. So did the dog. We'd stay in leaky cabins in the Ozarks just to be able to leap from a rock into the water. Even now I seldom use an umbrella unless it's pouring. It's fine to walk in a drizzle. Fine to water my plants with a hose that sprays everywhere and leaves me soaked on a warm day. Sounds fun, doesn't it?
I hope you were able to spend this weekend somewhere you wanted to be. That you got some free time away from the news. And that whatever your body was drawn to was there for you to enjoy. With good wishes for all, Nina Naomi
Me too. How about you? This seems to be a time to listen to our intuition. I've written about this before ("Doomscrolling. Let's Not," 7/20/20). How our intuition is emotionally powered; when our emotions are strong, our intuition kicks in. It takes what is happening in the moment--good or ill--and integrates it with our experience and memory. I know that when I have needed to be brave, or recognize something that I'd rather weren't true, my intuition has been my guide. It has taught me to rely upon it. As you read this, are you remembering a time when that has been true for you as well? When because you followed your intuition, you were emboldened to change something important to you?
One thing about intuition: it exists only in the present. "This is wrong." "I know what has to be done." Or, "This is right." "Here is what matters." They say our intuition responds to signs: a snippet of conversation, an email, some words, even a gesture can become a trigger to awaken our inner guide. That has been true for me. People's minds find all sorts of reasons (excuses) for doing the wrong thing. But when our intuition tells us something, we can generally trust it. When we're chasing our tails, that's usually the mind floundering. Intuition gives us purpose and direction. When it speaks to us we can act quickly and with confidence. We can do the hardest things.
I've been reading and thinking about ways to encourage our intuition. One way is to make space to hear our intuitive voice, space for it to be clear and true. Some deep breaths might help. If our world is crashing, and some of ours have been, a pause might provide space. A break-away of whatever length we can manage. Space to become attuned to ourselves. Being honest with ourselves is also important experts say. Admit if something feels wrong; don't try to normalize what isn't right. We can spend years ignoring our intuition while trying to normalize another's misbehavior. I've done that.
Other experts say that being creative allows our intuition to flow naturally. Another reason to paint, dance, write . . . to move through life believing in ourselves.
These days it's great to not future-trip about what might happen--we've seen how that doesn't work--or ruminate about the past. But to try listening to our bodies, where our intuition resides. And if no less that Albert Einstein recommends it, so much the better.
