words to live by

i awoke at 5:30 this morning.  it's a bit aggravating that i can seldom sleep more than 5 hours a night especially at this point in time when there's little reason to be awake at that hour.  but here i am.

by 6:30 i caught the sound of birds chattering outside my kitchen window.  i thought it funny how nothing has changed in their world while ours seems a bit surreal.  the birds go on greeting the day as always, doing what birds do every day of their lives.  squirrels scurry across the yard, frolicking from tree to tree with no concern, doing the same.  the small, wild things, (as my grandaddy used to call them), carry on undisturbed by the concerns of man.

i am not a religious person nor do i adhere to any specific dogma.  yet this morning while thinking about the birds and squirrels and battling my own insecurities, i could not help but consider a quote from the bible's book of matthew:
  
“therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. are you not of more value than they? and which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ..."

now i don't know if we're of more value than the birds of if god is even paying attention.  actually i don't know for sure what god is any more than anyone else, despite claims.  but there is relevance to the thought that our being anxious serves no purpose and that we could take a lesson from nature at this time of uncertainty.

as i focused on thoughts like this, in serendipity, a friend shared the following poem by john o'donohue today on facebook.  we all need a little reminder of faith and hope in the face of adversity and it is so often the words of others that inspire our own fortitude.  

This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.

Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.

If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.

something good this way comes?

it is sat, march 14, 2020.  we are seeing fear and panic strike the entire country.  people are stockpiling and as advised, going into isolation to protect themselves and others.  businesses and schools are shutting down and major events are being canceled.  the country is in solidarity for the most part to prevent a worse catastrophe such as countries like china and italy are experiencing since the virus covid19 has reared its head.

it sounds like a scene from an apocalyptic movie as people prepare for the worst and hope for the best.  yet despite the concerns, the sudden lifestyle changes and the very real possibility of sickness, financial loss and yes, even death, something else is happening...

i've heard that the skies in china have become blue again and birds are singing, i've seen the isolated apartment dwellers in italy open their windows and join their neighbors in song.  banks and credit companies are showing good faith, offering to work with those who, due to loss of work are unable to keep up with payments.  utility companies are refusing to terminate services for the same reason.  schools are offering to deliver meals to children who are dependent on school meals and are now confined to home.  people are offering to help deliver goods to the elderly and those at higher risk.  suddenly we are showing our humanity despite political or religious differences, despite color or country of origin.

maybe this is just the wake up call the world needs. maybe we, as humans taking advantage and taking for granted, have created this need for unification and now the universe/god/nature has responded in a way we can no longer ignore.  whatever the case may be, we will persevere and get through this.  perhaps not all of us, but most of us and with any luck maybe those who do will come out of this as better, more compassionate humans. this is what the planet needs.

what is happening now is a solemn reminder that we are not in control, but we are our brothers keeper.  i believe we will be better served by holding onto hope, a generous spirit and practicing gratefulness rather than fearfulness.  these are my thoughts.  coming from someone who leans towards melancholy, is at a higher risk and lives alone, i know the next few months may be trying on my spirit but if the fates allow, i will survive.

as we venture into unknown territory i can't pretend i'm not concerned, especially for those close to me whose health is seriously compromised, but i also know the outcome is out of my hands and only time will tell.

as shift happens may peace and common sense be with us.

something good this way comes  

no fear

one word

love

...and love

is only a word

it has no meaning, no substance until someone comes along and we feel the heart become swollen with longing and appreciation and the desire to know more, feel more, experience more with this someone.

love allows us to see and embrace perfection in the imperfect.

it is patient.

it keeps hope alive.

love says, "i want you in my life and i want to be a part of your life, to create moments and experience everything with you."

it is the most beautiful and powerful human experience, yet it can be the most devastating and painful experience when those we love leave us, whether by choice or circumstance.

love...it can be beautiful and messy and only when we experience its power can we truly know love.

sc

3-14-20

a promise made

i awoke around 6:30 this morning to thoughts of J.  i'm not sure if those thoughts woke me or drifted in while i was waking, but as happens most morning, there they were.  warm, loving, sensual thoughts that seem to come of their own accord.

upon gaining more clarity my thoughts drifted to mark, thinking how quickly 3 years have gone by since his death.  i remember leaning over his hospital bed and whispering in his ear, "if you're going to fight, then fight like hell, but if you need to let go then let go.  it's ok."  he finally let go after i left the room, unable to make the decision to take him off life support despite being pressured by the hospital staff to do so.  i had prayed hard for him to make that choice because i simply could not.

this morning i sat with my coffee and wrote a note to thank mark for his love and the things he taught me about life and love in our brief journey together.  then i folded that note and tucked it into the little glass jar that i had filled with some of his ashes.  today, per his request, i will take that jar to the cemetery where his pappy is buried.  if the ground is soft enough, i will dig a small hole by his grandpa's headstone and bury that note with mark's ashes.  if that's not possible i will open the jar, perhaps read the note and light it afire, then scatter his ashes atop pappy's grave.

it has taken me three years to come to the point of fulfilling this promise i made to mark of placing some of his ashes with his pappy.  it's the very least i can do.  after all, mark made me a better person by showing me through his love, that i was more than i had believed and more worthy than i had known.  i never forgot my promise to him, but it wasn't until this past week that i knew it was finally time and that i could do this.  how appropriate it seems to me that this day is to be sunny and unseasonably warm, that we have set our clocks this morning to "spring ahead" knowing we can look forward with hope in the promise of renewal.

if you want me

i am the luscious ripe fruit

just within reach

i am the passion

the softness

the understanding

your spirit cries out for

you've dreamt of me

all of your life

the question isn't

will you deny me

the question is

will you deny yourself?

if you want me

come and get me

speak the truth

amen

opportunities

this is where i come...

...to expose my feelings, to vent, to write what tears would say if they could speak.  this is my diary of sorts.  and so i shall continue to write and process and examine my thoughts and feelings.  it's simply what i do.  few if any read this and what if they do? 

it has been a hard few days since saturday.  i don't know how long it ill be until i hold the face of the one i love in my hands again.  maybe never.  but those last moments together and his beautiful face are seared into my brain, that image as clear as a bell. 

i am so tired of crying.  i am so tired of missing him and wanting what isn't mine, perhaps never will be mine.  hopefully time will ease this ache, but i have little faith in that, so despite coming to an agreement of putting a halt to things, much has not or will not likely change.  here i go again on a path of acceptance, at the mercy of whatever fate may have in store.  i can only hope she chooses to be kind.  i have known enough of her cruelty for one lifetime.

each of us will go about our own lives now, not so immersed in each other, yet there is a part of me that believes this won't be the end of what we've known previously.  i can't accept that nor can i see how it could be considering what we've shared.  maybe i'm in denial, but when two souls come together by chance or fate and share the rare connection we have, how can we ever allow circumstance or distance to prevent it?  perhaps i am wrong.  only time will tell.  i will continue to hold the reins of hope, only less tightly, but the love i feel will remain strong and the memories vivid.

what a week this has been so far, full of angst and sorrow.  to top it off, sunday is the the anniversary of mark's death.  there's little doubt i will be anything but alone as is usual on the weekend, or for that matter every day.  being by myself so much of the time allows my mind to wander.  i dread sunday and all the memories it will invoke.  i already know it will be a sad day, one i cannot ignore.  my thoughts at the moment are to fulfill a promise i made to him and to take some of his ashes to the cemetery to be placed on his pappy's gravesite.  it's something i have been meaning to do since he passed and there would be no better day than sunday to do so.  it won't be easy but it is necessary.  perhaps i will ask a friend to accompany me or perhaps i will go alone because really, who would want to participate?  besides, there is no one left here that was extremely close to him.  maybe this is my job and mine alone. 

today the thought occurred to me again that maybe i should sell my house and head back to ashland where i would be closer to what's left of my family.  i probably won't, but i often think of it.  i have few friends left here and those friends were a big part of the reason i chose to stay after mark died.  but then, as my sister pointed out, living close by would not necessarily mean i would see them any more often.  she lives there and seldom sees any of them herself.  point taken.  i guess it would just be knowing that they were close by that could make a difference.  i've never missed ashland, either.  wapakoneta is a much nicer place to live, this is certain.  there are still reasons to stay put.  the one thing that would convince me to move is if J decided we had some kind of future together.  i would seriously consider moving back to ashland or someplace closer to him.  the town of oberlin has always come to mind.  as always i am open to possibilities, having learned not to fear change.  it has never been change that i've feared.  if that were the case i would have never found myself living in wapakoneta.  in fact i have generally welcomed change.  my life has been nothing but, sometimes by choice, but many times not.

it is 2:30 am and i should settle into bed but most likely i will wait until my eyes grow a bit more weary and i have exhausted my brain.  another day gone.  they keep going, one by one, adding up into weeks, months and years that pass too quickly with so time and opportunities squandered.  then before you know it, there will be no time left. i feel this so profoundly since i've gotten older.  this is why there is such a need in me to grab hold of the things that matter most, why i am so passionate in my desire to love and be loved when it comes to J.  the time we have to live and love is so short and so precious.  we are just a blip on the screen of life and in a moment we are gone.  if we don't grab onto that moment and that opportunity, if we let everything else consume our time and energy, we find one day it is too late, we can't go back and we are left with a hole in our heart and the sad taste of regret for the remainder of our days. 





 

 




 

a million maybes

maybe i'm hardwired for love or heartache or both.  seems to be the story of my life.
maybe i need to give it up, ya know... to stop thinking or hoping that i can have a happily ever after.  but it seems like hope is all i have at times.
maybe i want to believe in the possibility of forever, fool that i am.
maybe i'm too old to be wanting more for tomorrow, but i don't believe that.
maybe i expect too much from people in general.
maybe i think people are better than they actually are.
maybe i invest too much in others.
maybe i'm naive, gullible, foolish when it comes to matters of the heart.
maybe i should stop chasing someone whom i fear is ok with losing me.
maybe i'm too much...or just not enough.
maybe i think i matter more than i do.
maybe i fear i don't matter enough.
maybe i'm too easy and willing to please.
maybe i'm just being selfish, but it doesn't feel that way.
maybe i need to get my shit together and realize i've had all i'm going to get and this present state of being is it, so maybe i need to accept my fate, period...but i struggle with that because maybe i want more!
maybe i want to be adored because i've learned what that feels like.
maybe i give too much too freely to those i love and maybe i can't help being that way.
maybe i want passion instead of mediocrity....i know i do.
maybe i like expressing myself sexually with my lover too damn much...but how can that be?
maybe i just want too much in the long term.
maybe i'm tired of wondering where i really stand.
maybe i need a haven, a refuge, an escape instead of always being one.
maybe i shouldn't be so eager and accommodating.
maybe i should try harder to ignore my feelings, to forget love and desire and passion.
maybe i should let my world grow smaller and smaller, resigning myself to more trivial pursuits (or perhaps a monastery).
yes, maybe i should walk away from anything that even closely resembles love. but i have tried and failed.
maybe i need to stop believing that love is really all that matters, but i don't think i can because life and death have taught me otherwise.
maybe i should just stop. being. me.
maybe i would if i only knew how.

hard truth