Be Free. Get Simple.

I’m on a roll.

Cleaning. Sorting.

Changing my life. Starting a new chapter.

Everywhere I can, I’m simplifying in preparation for what will come.

Sometimes, I wonder what’s ahead. I think about Mary Oliver’s question, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

I muse about it. I let it go.

A little later, I remember her words, “Listen. Are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?”

I notice I’m breathing just a little. I pause and breathe deeper.

A hummingbird comes to my window. My heart lifts. (How can a thing with wings cause so much happiness?) Thank god for birds.

There are also many butterfly visits to these same flowers. Thank god for butterflies, too.

I do especially love things that fly. I also love anything with roots that’s blooming.

Another line from one of Mary Oliver’s poems crosses my mind: “I want to be improbable, beautiful and afraid of nothing, as though I had wings.”

Me, too.

She said, “I believe in kindness. Also in mischief. Also in singing, especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed.”

I sing a little. (Singing helps everything. Immediately.)

Returning to the kitchen, I place dishes, vanilla, and spices back into newly painted cupboards and sort as I go. Do I love this cup? This sauce pan, this plate, this cinnamon tea…

The simpler I get, the more clear I become.

I might love clarity more than anything I own. Clarity is valuable anytime, but especially in the coming days.

Simplicity is Freedom

by Mary Oliver

When I moved from one house to another
there were many things I had no room
for. What does one do? I rented a storage
space. And filled it. Years passed.
Occasionally I went there and looked in,
but nothing happened, not a single
twinge of the heart.

As I grew older the things I cared
about grew fewer, but were more
important. So one day I undid the lock
and called the trash man. He took
everything.

I felt like the little donkey when
his burden is finally lifted. Things!
Burn them, burn them! Make a beautiful
fire! More room in your heart for love,
for the trees! For the birds who own
nothing – the reason they can fly.

********