Susan Minarik – Page 12 – Notes from the Woods

Scared

Sometimes when I hear a thought or phrase that I like, I jot it down on a scrap of paper. One day I made a collage with some of the scraps, pasting them onto a finger-painted background. Usually I walk past it without glancing at it; it’s been on my office wall for a fairly long while. But one day I heard a poll that stunned me and called one of the thoughts to mind.

The poll asked Americans how often they felt afraid. To my astonishment, a little over 50% of the respondents said they felt afraid at least once a day—even when they were in their own homes.

It wasn’t so much that people were feeling anxious that surprised me. We are, it seems, being pummeled by threatening events, both natural and man-made, these days. Every day it’s something new and dire—floods, fires, erupting volcanoes, rampant inflation, violent crime, looming diseases, domestic contention, international unrest. If you pay attention at all, feeling some level of uneasiness is a given, however slight it might be.

What surprised me about the survey was how many of us said they felt outright fear at least once a day, and that they felt it even when they were secure in their own homes. Frankly, that alarmed me. The “fear porn” craze that’s beaming at us from every form of media is having a greater impact than I imagined.

“News,” of course, from whatever source, has always featured the most alarming or tragic events. It’s drama that sells. But these days the news seems darker than ever, as if some thick, ominous cloud was enveloping the world. A lot of us feel a kind of tension in the air, as if a dangerous storm is looming. And maybe it is. Life on this planet comes with storms.

We’re also living in a time of rapidly accelerating change. We hardly have time to learn how to operate our daily systems and tools before they need an upgrade. We’re constantly adjusting to something different, and that can be nerve-wracking in itself.

But you know what? Even if this stretch of the road is a mess and we seem to be going too fast, we’re alive. We’re alive, and we’re human beings. And that’s a lot. Humans are remarkable beings, after all, capable of amazing feats. We’re resilient and creative. We’re prone to kindness and hope. We’re inventive and resourceful. We persevere and endure. We have spirit and reason and beating hearts and pumping lungs and voices. And more than that, down deep, we love each other.

When the world’s moving too fast, slow down. Take in your surroundings. Chances are the things around you are pretty much the same as the last time you noticed them. Same scene, same people, same sky. And here you are, alive and breathing in the midst of it, right this very minute. Let yourself notice that. Think about all that had to have happened, exactly as they did, for you to be here at all, experiencing being human in a complex, ever-changing world. Then decide to make the best of it—no matter how paltry your best, from time to time, might seem. You matter, you know.

Oh, and that quote on my bulletin board? It says, “Alertness and paranoia are not the same thing. Be aware and at peace.” Personally, I think that’s good counsel.

Wishing you a week of peace and smooth going.

Warmly,
Susan

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

The Moment is Large

Listen, it’s all a gift. No matter how it feels.
This moment is larger than we imagine
and could not exist as it is but for our part
in it. Our seeing stitches it together.
Our words are notes in its song.
When we move, we move the whole atmosphere.
We breathe air and drink water that has circulated
through countless other bodies before ours.
Our thoughts shape the future and color its days.
We give time its meaning and rhyme.
And it all shines back at us, a perfect reflection
in the grand cosmic mirror, of who we are,
each of us, and all of us together.

No Walls

What if we who are here now
will be the last ones to walk
among the trees. Ever.
To walk anywhere, for that matter.
The push of the final button
in a world that has gone insane
seems well within the range
of possibilities after all.
Any day now, everything
could be gone. All of it.
But today I walk in the woods
on a perfect summer day,
breathing in the smell of it
as if this were the first time
I ever experienced its perfume.
I give thanks for the vibrant green
life of it, for the packed dirt path
beneath my feet, for knowing
that I, too, am alive, right here,
right now, remembering words
from an unknown poet:
My cathedral has no walls.
Amen.

Red Zinnia

Then, when you least expect it, a glint of garnet red
so radiant that you can only gape and stare
pulls you into its depths, all the lush green
that flooded your mind a minute ago, utterly gone,
leaving in its place a crown of golden flowers
rising from vermilion petals, their only mission
to sing to your eyes in joy.

Summer World

This is my world now, this dance of green,
with all its stories and lessons, its healing,
its comfort, its flow, its movement, its peace.
I stare at the trees, as astonished as always
to realize anew that they are living beings, fellows
on the journey through this particular moment
and place, astonished, too, that such beings
could be, and me, with eyes to see them
and a heart that hears their songs.

Wild Day Lilies

Great choruses of orange day lilies line the roads now.
They arrive in troops, singing from their golden throats,
their petals opening into fat, happy stars.
I drive past them smiling, Somewhere
in a corner of my mind, I hear ice cream truck music
and my mouth is remembering the textures and tastes
and cold of an orange creamsicle on a hot summer day
when I rode my bike down the sandy road,
dime in my pocket, to buy one.
It’s the memories these wild lilies evoke that make us
smile inside at the sight of them. We think that
we take them for granted. But they bring memories
to all our hearts of summer days like this one.
That’s their gift.

This, Exactly

Oh Yes! This is it!
This is what we wanted,
what we longed for
the whole winter long,
this summer day with a breeze
pushing the tall grass
and giant clouds transporting
us back to our childhoods
when we stretched out
on the green fragrance
and found circuses
sailing overhead, when
even the ants were a matter
of utter fascination. Yes!
This is it exactly. The perfect
summer day. Oh, at last!
Oh Yes. Oh Yes. Oh Yes.

Morning Visitors

I’m pouring my morning coffee
when a motion catches my eye.
Two fawns scamper from the woods
to stand in the clearing at its edge.
They graze on the grass and nibble leaves,
pausing, heads raised, to survey
the surrounding sights and sounds.
Awareness is their only protection.
That, and their speed.
They can vanish in an instant.
But they stay for maybe three minutes.
Then they are gone, leaving me to think
how lucky I am to live in a time and place
where young deer can appear
mere yards away. Like them,
such a time can vanish in an instant.
That’s the plan, you know.
I sip my coffee and give thanks
for this now, my mind still awed
by the privilege of seeing baby deer.

Learn to Fly

It’s been nearly a decade now since a friend asked me to write “one of your letters” for her to give to her son as a graduation gift. I remember being honored by her request, and moved. I remember doing a lot of contemplation before I wrote it. Finally, the words came to me as if they were a gift of love. I thought they deserved to be shared.

This is what the letter to the young graduate said:

* * *

“You were born with potential. You were born with goodness and trust. You were born with ideals and dreams. You were born with greatness. You were born with wings. You are not meant for crawling, so don’t. You have wings. Learn to use them and fly.” ― Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi

Rumi’s right, of course. But it’s hardly the whole story. This learning-to-fly business is no easy thing. Nor is it quickly learned.

For one thing, you have to want it—that ability to soar above the crowd. You have to keep fighting against the pull of mediocrity. You have to want freedom more than you want to belong.

Those ideals and dreams you have in your heart? Define them. Write down what you want and why and keep your reasons close at hand. You will need reminders when the headwinds are strong, when storms come. And storms will come.

No one succeeds without chalking up a list of failures. Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid of not trying to win. “Wisdom,” an old saying goes, “comes from experience. And experience comes from making mistakes.” There’s no shame in that. Setbacks and failures are life’s gifts to you, sent as corrections to your course. Be daring. Take risks.

Keep a good helping of forgiveness in your pocket. Mostly you’ll need it for yourself. It will keep you from tearing yourself down needlessly and will help you maintain your humility while you continue your upward climb.

Learn not to blame circumstances or other people when things go wrong. The key to success is the acceptance of full and complete responsibility for every choice you make and for every action you take, for your own response to whatever is happening. When you inadvertently hurt others, be quick to apologize and make amends.

To the best of your ability, maintain your health. Eat wisely. Exercise. Get sufficient sleep. Learn to relax. Adopt some form of meditation.

Maintain flexibility of thought. Consider opinions that oppose your own. Be willing, if it serves truth, to discard every belief you’ve ever held. Demand truth, whatever the consequences. And to the very best of your ability, be honest with yourself and others; that’s what the practice of truth demands.

Nevertheless, be kind. Be gracious and tactful. Allow others the respect and compassion they deserve. These are the hallmarks of genuine maturity and of leadership.

Take time in your life for pleasure and play. To be alive is a profound privilege. And your gratitude is best expressed through your laughter and your joy, through your appreciation of life’s beauty and goodness and fun.

Above all, vow to learn to love, as broadly and fully as you can. For love is the wind which lifts us, and the power that enables us to soar.

You have wings, my friend. Learn to use them, and fly.

Congratulations on all your magnificent successes thus far! You have honored yourself and your loving family and made all of us better with all that you have achieved.

###

Wishing you a splendid summer.

Warmly (with a gentle breeze),
Susan

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A Solstice Song

This is the day of long light, the birthday
of summer. Drink it in. Let it glide
into your eyes and slide into your pores.
Lick it with your tongue, feel it seep
into your cells and flow through your veins,
this sustainer of life, this spirit of fiery joy.

Celebrate its dawn; embrace its high noon.
Float in the glow of its dusk until
the stars rise and the fireflies
sparkle the night in its honor.
This is the day of long light,
the birthday of summer.
May our hearts dance with it, and be glad.