Aging and Living

January 21, 2016

On the first day of the year I settled  into my old spot in the living room at our other house to listen to a poem online. It was so good that I listened to it several more times before taking it down in my journal. Though the punctuation and line structure is probably wrong, here it is:

The Gift by Mary Oliver
Be still, my soul, and steadfast
Earth and heaven both are still watching
Though time is draining from the clock
And your walk that was confident and quick 
Has become slow.
So, be slow, if you must
But let the heart still play its part
Love still, as once you loved, deeply and without patience
Let God and the world know you are grateful
That the gift has been given. 

Today, the sky is basically gray and it is quietly drizzling, but on the day that I heard that poem the fresh snow was sparkling in the sunlight. The sky was blue and my mind was a few blocks away with Alice in the hospital.

Alice has taught me so very much. The only reason these words could mean so much to me at 25 is because of her friendship. This poem is about aging and it is also about living. I take Oliver's words and Alice's lessons with me as soul stirring HOPE.

Aging can't be stopped and won't be stopped. Love lets gratefulness for the gift of life and eternal life SHINE. Be slow, if you must, but don't ever stop letting God and the world know that you are grateful.