today’s Musing written and published from
Morning walk: 9C/48F, drizzling stopped – it is now just a steady rain, walk short, dog wet, spring in
Yesterday, I rushed around first thing in the morning tidying up for a cleaning lady who never came (now I’m half-done), but that’s another story that takes too much energy to tell in relation to its importance.
If I’m going to spend time telling a story, if I’m going to ask you to invest minutes of your valuable day to read it, it should be a story worth hearing, have some point to make – that adds value in some way to our lives, otherwise, why bother?
Please, wake me . . .
You are life, and I sit here at your edge, like a beach waiting for your wave.
If you can’t wave, could you at least wink?
Take me. Take my by surprise. Shake me up. Startle me.
Noise of life, seems quieter this morning – critic hasn’t gone away, pessimist hasn’t stopped pessimizing, failed idea or big mistake didn’t right themselves overnight – but noise of them is always loudest in my own head – so having those voices fall quiet is a good thing.
Don’t you agree, we self-sabotage far more than anyone else ever does to us?
I’ve encountered several people recently, doing just that – sabotaging themselves without need to (not just the cleaning lady). But noticeable to me, and probably to anyone else who watches or listens. But not the person themselves. So, what to do about that?
Silence. Ignoring/avoiding. Disconnecting. Running from it. Those all work.
The problem is, if we avoid, flee or deflect every time we see that kind of behavior, soon we’ll be alone, looking in mirrors for company, and probably seeing the same thing there. How do we run from that? Who wants to?
I was wondering, in technology age when instant-everything is way of life, when bakeries sell things so well preserved they last for weeks, why they would offer a discount for day old? hmmm
In this fast pace, when pharmacists fill prescriptions in 15 minutes while you shop in their store, why can’t a doctor’s office find time to return a phone call within a week? hmmm
Am I a day late, or day-old?
Not sure – but I know my speed is like the pharmacist in the morning, like the baker by afternoon and by evening I’ve lost the energy required to overcome inertia to pick up the phone.
Today I want to resolve to absolve – to set myself free of consequences; not that there won’t be consequences, but to be less concerned about them and more focused on what I do in each moment, on things that are truly important. I’m going to think like a pharmacist, and - on things that are not, I’ll think like a physician (now doctors, don’t get all uppity and write me your complaints .. instead, use the time to return calls to your patients and their families) …. and then, as day lingers on, I’ll bake some bread.
And, in closing, here’s a treasure for you:
For me, it is a reality check, but not the kind of reality check/cheque you cash. It is a quote I found this morning. I am a quote fan, but this one is far better than just something to season your salad days. Worth putting up on a wall to see every day:
‘Art must take reality by surprise.’ – F. Sagan
It defines the separation between an artist and some guy with a brush and roller; it splits the space between typing and writing, chiseling and sculpting. I think it goes so far beyond ‘just showing up’, it means to startle. To awaken. To arrest bodies and fire-up minds.
~~~
LAGOON REALITY - archived poetry
Essence of it must be
more than the noise alone,
there’s an impact in heat
or cold in its rhythm, in its
power; message clear,
cool - one that just
shows up embodied in sounds
those crickets make
at night or in early morn
because otherwise
there is no time to stop
and listen, no time to
pause for it, to hear nature
talking to me, middle of busy day
working at home sometimes
with windows open on a day
when drizzle stops just
long enough, I can hear
crickets sometimes through
that freshness in the afternoon
just like I do at night or early
in the morning - which strikes me
as truly odd since that lagoon is
four rows of houses over and, well,
actually, it’s not a lagoon at all
it is really called a constructed
wetland because it is, though
I think those crickets think that
they are the real thing.
~~~
Mark Kolke
321,700
RESPONSES/COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME; send to: dailycolumn@markkolke.com
June 16 Comments
June 16 - ROAD TO TRUTH – Thanks for adding me to your Musings list. Great style and interesting thoughts. I really quite like the poetry. What starting you writing and what compels you to keep going? I have arrived in the wonderfully hot humid South and am breathing deeply of the smell of summer. Enjoy your day!, DL,
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