"Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in the haystack
of light.
It was 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…
This might be my favourite Mary Oliver poem. I ran across it early in my doctoral journey and the lines: "Oh, good scholar, I say to myself, how can you help but grow wise with such teachings as these." I stopped and took stock of the person I was and continue to reflect on the question Parker Palmer asks, "Who is the self that teaches?" Or, the paraphrase: "Who is the person who lives this life?" I pause, breathe, and attempt to be mindful of all "the untrimmable light of the world, the ocean's shine, and the prayers that are made out of grass." As Thich Nhat Hanh advises, turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Is it a gift that a teacher can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary in the minds of their students?
It is, but they do not always see it. Adults don’t either for that matter. In a world of busyness we have to set aside time and just breathe.
Simply and mindfully beautiful.
Mary Oliver has a way with words.