The Gorgeous Comfort of "Life Goes On"
Spring! Springing! Feast for the eyes, yes — but for me it's also a feast for the soul, the greatest kind of comfort food.
These are the days when there are such rich rewards for getting outside of my mind and out into the world, my senses alive and drinking in this incredible, magical world, full of startling newness every single day.
And the newness in turn generates all this for me: Wonder. Awe. Joy. Gratitude.
Some days I sneak outside for a long walk or a short walk or just a spin around the yard five, six, seven times to drink it all in. And it is always there, all of nature just being, just doing its thing, and man, I will never ever tire of it.
Awe is one heck of an antidote to disaffect and disconnect, I’ll tell you that.
I moved out of the city in 2013 to save myself, and my son, after a horrific season of grief and loss. And I did it because I needed to be thisclose to all of this to heal. I needed to be reminded that life has its seasons and that the world keeps turning and that my agonies are a footnote, merely the price of consciousness. And that every day I can orient myself beyond the internal.
I love that life will go on without me. I love knowing these mountains in my view will be here for centuries, their stoic grandeur anchoring the edges of my vision. I love that every spring the redbuds bloom and the leaves unfurl and the worms come up and the skies get blue and absolutely everywhere I look there is growth.
How could that not be anything but the most reassuring comfort, the most incredible reward — given to us just because we are here to witness it?
I know I speak plants more than most people, but even if you don’t love the outdoors, please grant yourself a moment to marvel at the glory all around us right now and give over to a little burst of awe.
xox
Yes! It has been an unusually cold, wet (so much rain!) spring here in the PNW--but even still, things have been growing and blooming and there's a metaphor/lesson in that I've needed the past few months. This week the weather finally turned, and I have been reveling in a return to the dirt and worms and sweat and aching back. It's great to feel alive in that way, you know? Love your photos and the reminders.
We bought our house from the widow of a florist/nursery owner. Everything was overgrown when we moved in and I've spent 3 years taming all kinds of things. But I can't bring myself to dig up any of the random flowers that pop up here, there, and everywhere with no rhyme or reason. I know who planted them. I know who thrilled at their appearance every year after he died. And now that person is me. Every day in spring is like a magic trick in our yard.