Tag: beauty

You are sitting on a bench at your local playground. It’s sunny (despite Michigan’s temperamental weather). Your gaze begins to wander and settles on children climbing. They are climbing everywhere. It’s amazing, actually, how many things children can climb on. You further notice how they run, walk, slide down slides, play tag, squeal with delight on swings. Toddlers trundle off in a big, new-to-them world. They seem to take up space with ease; it’s their world, we’re just living in it. They are so sure that they belong wherever they go. Do you have this scene? For me, this imagined space invites lots of emotions: joy, wonder, delight, curiosity, and sadness. Yes, sadness. Because I, as an adult, have a harder time feeling so present and excited and happy and confident of belonging. I have more awareness and more to my story as to why these emotions make sense for me.

What is play, and why does it make sense for all humans of ...

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             Eleri jumped seamlessly, no special notice the piles of hay in her way, except the leap that interrupted her rhythm. Every morning she was up with the crack of dawn, ready to go for her walk. Every morning she ran, so at other times she could rest and eat. The gate of her legs spread, pounding the ground in a musical speed. Her tail wagged delight.

            Animals are fascinating creatures. They have this rhythm to life. Hunt, eat, play, sleep. Hunt, eat, play, sleep. Rinse, repeat  Animals already know a basic tenant of life we humans miss. Life comes with a beat, but it also comes with the ups and downs of rhythms. Work is a glorified element of life in American culture. Or laziness is glorified. And, we’ve missed the beauty of the ups and downs of work time and rest time.

          & ...

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This past weekend my husband and I planted some flowers in our yard.  I am not terribly experienced with planting things (though I do have an indoor geranium that I cherish) and felt slightly apprehensive about this task.  My husband, however, assured me that we would be just fine and reminded me how lovely it would be to come home to such beauty and color.  And so, we set off to make our selections before putting them in the ground.

After browsing the outdoor section at Lowe’s, we came home with petunias, marigolds, begonias, and a bunch of other pretty things I do not know the names for.  I had to admit, seeing the colorful flowers all together on my porch made my heart smile.  As we began to plant, we had to make some decisions about where each flower should go.  The “full sun” petunias and marigolds near the front, the “partial shade” begonias in the back, and so on.  We looked at what the flowers needed and t ...

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