Simple

"Always be on the look out for the presence of wonder." E.B. White

(art by Rachel Grant)

There are no small, simple moments. Each singular one is a miracle, each one contains the sum of all moments before it. Be present to it. This is what truly makes a life. In this age where the picture perfect, social media driven experiences tend to focus on do more, see more, be more, how much we have lost sight that this is not the norm.

Right now, I sit at my desk. I look out on my garden and my neighbor’s white farmhouse style house. Shadows from the leaves of the oak trees play along the walls. I watch this in beautiful fascination. It is a moment of being present and mediation. It is, in its own way, a deeply spiritual moment. A dance and play of shadows. There is a gentle Spring breeze. The sky is a soft blue. My Irises are beginning to bloom. Rich purples and soft yellows. A painting of Irises by Van Gogh comes to mind. On my desk is a portrait of Emily Dickinson, placed there to remind me: Forever is composed of nows.

Yet that is not the quote by her that I am reflecting on. Instead it’s, “Hope inspires the good to reveal itself.” I think of a word I just learned recently. It’s meliorism.

Meliorism: the quiet yet unwavering belief that the world, despite its flaws & struggles, can be made better through human effort, kindness & wisdom .

I hold to this hope, this belief.

My hope is born of critical thinking. Without this, hope is mere naïveté.

My desk contains small, simple treasures I have found: a Cardinal’s bright red feather, a nautilus shell that’s a soft creamy tan with yellow and delicate brown lines. A small, smooth stone from a river that I have carried with me every day in my pocket to remind me that there is more than the manmade world. A fossilized plant. A dark stone from the grave of Emily Dickinson. Small touchstones.

There are stacks of journals in which I jot down my longings, my thoughts, my feelings, and conversations. An exploration of my inner and outer world. There are collections of poetry by Dickinson, Rilke and William Carlos Williams. There is a tome entitle The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Each item nourishes my spirit and sparks my imagination.