Mindfull

Every day
I see or I hear
something
that more or less

kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle

in the haystack
of light.
It is what I was born for -
to look, to listen,

To lose myself
inside this soft world -
to instruct myself
over and over

in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,

The fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant -
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help

but grow wise
with such teachings
as these -
the untrimmable light

of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

I once had a professor who predicted to the class that each of us, over the course of our lives, would find a handful of poems that literally will change the ways that we look at our lives. This poem by Mary Oliver is at the top of my list. In my frenzied life, I all too often lose sight of the message in this poem.

After 16 straight days of work, I was delighted to have this afternoon off to explore a few trails with the pups surrounded by a soft blanket of fresh snow. I adore the way snow hushes the world around us and the way it gives trees a lacey light.

It was warm and the snow was sticky making it perfect for later in the day for Gabriella and I to make this "ginormous" snowman.

Please have a wonderful week. If all goes as planned, I will be a happy man with no trips scheduled for this coming week. I may even have the time to view images and comment for a change.