3/08/2012

Pockets of paradise

20



Of Goodness


How good
that the clouds travel, as they do,
like the long dresses of the angels
of our imagination,


or gather in storm masses, then break
with their gifts of replenishment,
and how good
that the trees shelter the patient birds


in their thick leaves,
and how good that in the field
the next morning
red bird frolics again, his throat full of song,


and how good
that the dark ponds, refreshed, 
are holding the white cups of the lilies
so that each is an eye that can look upward,


and how good that the blue-winged teal
comes paddling among them, as cheerful as ever,


and so on, and so on.....


~ Mary Oliver ~



When I am outside, it is far easier to see (feel) the big picture than when I am sitting here in my chair, sometimes worrying over what isn't helped by worrying.  You'd think I'd learn after all these years to stop wasting time on useless habits.  All it takes is changing my perception - and sticking to it.  But how to hold on to that?  I think our deepest frustrations arise when reality doesn't mesh with our deepest desires.  How to let go of that?   

The other day, my dear friend wrote to me, "you have to find pockets of paradise."  I have not been able to get this out of my head.  How perfectly true.  More than that...how attainable.  I started to think about where my "pockets" might be and once I started to pay attention, they were not hard to find.



Here is an amazement --- once I was twenty years old and in
every motion of my body there was a delicious ease,
and in every motion of the green earth there was
a hint of paradise,
and now I am sixty years old, and it is the same.


~ Mary Oliver ~


Paradise....an illusive wish-I-were-somewhere-else place....a place of outstanding natural beauty that serves as a buffer to the out-there-over-there world....somewhere one has landed due to much good luck and the fortunate movement of the stars?  Ha.  It's what I make of it.  Nothing more.  No matter where I am.


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I found a very heartfelt interview with poet Mary Oliver over here.  It's from March of 2011, then age 75.
She reveals some astounding truths about herself
and offers a few glimpses into why she is braver now...


: : :


Still learning & working with textures in PSE...for the cloud photo, I used two
from Distressed Jewell and for the bracelet, one again from DJ and another from Tim_in_Ohio.


20 comments:

  1. Oh my!! This posting comes at a time when I much needed it. 'Pockets of paradise' - what a lovely set of words. I don't know if it is the grey days, my restlessness for something new and exciting to happen or what - but I've had to remind myself over and over that its really and truly the 'little' things that make my life 'good'. Those moments when I am so very thankful for who and where I am during that instant (and fleeting) moment. Thank you.

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    1. Sometimes I take a deep breath and just click that "publish" button. Later I might read it and think it sounds too raw. I have yet to hit "delete" so I guess that's something... :>}}
      Very pleased you found something you needed today, Penny. Here's to pockets!

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  2. And here's to Mary Oliver, photography, beads, silk yarns, words, beaches, clouds, red birds, thick leaves, dark ponds, good friends, and changing perceptions... all pockets of paradise!

    Bravo on your cloud picture... amazing how the filter (or whatever you call it) adds to the composition!

    xxoo R

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    1. YES, here here to all that good stuff!!! Pockets are EVERYWHERE :>]]

      p.s. the "filter" is two texture overlays that are applied in PSE, then you erase, & tweak & saturate etc etc....come & play with all of us, Robin, it is toooo, toooo much fun!!

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  3. Oh, what a beautiful sky in this photograph.
    Linneas Atelje Photography

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    1. Thank you, credit goes to the added textures - they were fun to work with.
      Two from Distressed Jewel on Flickr...she creates amazing stuff!

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  4. Just look at that sky!
    A glorious post, Christi, thank you.

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    1. A not-unusual March day around here, with the weather blowing itself about. It is standing in the wide open that provides the expansive space, I think...and a big ole wide angle lens ;>]

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  5. Firstly... the topmost photo? It breaks my heart. Something about the fine cracks woven through that impossibly enormous sky. Just. breaks.

    Confession time... I am not a poetry enthusiast. Many people in my life have tried. Giving me book after book. I love well written snippets. I love phrases that evoke a time and place. So you'd think I'd be a natural fan. But there is something about being made to follow along. The forced breaks that makes me ...angsty. Even after reading that amazing interview, I cannot read Mary Oliver's poems. My loss. I think.

    However... YOUR words. I read. And love. I feel a deep melancholy tinged with hope. There is something in the air. It permeates "our" world. Synchronicity. Convergence. Or perhaps ...just... the longing for Spring.

    ... I am here. Beside you. Looking for Pockets of Paradise. xo

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    1. I took a big gulp after reading your comment, Jen. Thank you for that. I love how you tell me your truth and also, that I can count on it. I also think I can understand a bit of what you are saying about poetry...I feel that way about some poetry. Still, you are a poet yourself, a visual poet of your own very unique making.

      I'm glad you are there. Stay there.
      xoxo
      p.s. Textures in the sky photo are freebies from Distressed Jewell on Flickr. She's amazing, check her out!

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  6. Thank You so much for noting the interview
    with Mary O. i would not have known it existed.

    and thank you so, for that photograph.

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    1. ...with pleasure on both counts, Grace.
      Mary O. never stops astounding me, even more so as she ages and still welcomes change. She is so ALIVE.

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  7. yes i will say thank you too. perfect

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  8. Beautiful post...I have emailed a poetic friend specially to check this out. Your images are always so wonderful.

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  9. I love the painterly effect you achieved with that photo. Gorgeous work!

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    1. Thanks so much, Linda, it was great fun to work on...

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  10. Mary Oliver is one of my favorite poets so thank you for some more of her poetry.. and that idea of pockets of paradise is a wonderful thought.

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    1. I'm holding that idea very close these days...

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