Writers: Rooted in Poetry, Rooted in Words, Rooted in the Present
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| Irene Latham |
This month we are riffing off the word "rooted."
The first thing that comes to my mind is one of my daily Mindfulness Affirmations:
I am rooted in this present moment.
There have been times in my life when I've agonized over this question: What's my PURPOSE? All these stories, poems, words...what are they FOR?
I mean, we could spend decades on those questions! And the answer may shift and change directions from year to year...
One thing I've discovered since my first book for children was released (2010) is that when I am rooted in the present moment, all those angsty "purpose" thoughts fade. My only purpose is to live each moment as fully as possible.
What a relief!
But how does one get there, to that place of peace?
Mary Oliver in her book UPSTREAM has this to say:
"'Song of Myself,' [the poem by Walt Whitman, which if you read no other poem this National Poetry Month, make it this one] with its thunder and its kisses and its implications. So hot is the fire of that poem, so bright its transformative power, that w truly need, and Whitman knew it, each of the slow, descending chords that follow. There is a madness born of too much light, and Whitman was not after madness nor even recklessness, but the tranquility of affinity and function. He was after the joyfulness, a belief in existence in which man's inner light is neither rare nor elite, but godly and common, and acknowledged. For that it was necessary to be rooted, again, in the world."
To be rooted in the world.
To stand on a sandy shore and look at the ocean.
To go barefooted in the rain.
To fall in love again with trees.
Here's a short poem to help get you there. Thanks so much for reading!
The Trees and Me
We both come from seed
and are made mostly of water.
We both require sunshine,
rain, soil.
We both lean into
a friendly, autumn breeze.
We learn from each other—
how to stay rooted;
how to let go.
- Irene Latham
Love this poetic version of rooted. Thanks for always engaging my senses, Irene.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely poem. I am grateful for the reminder to stay rooted in the present moment. There is so much joy to be found there.
ReplyDeleteIrene, thank you for the inspiration from Mary Oliver and Walt Whitman. I started reading 'Song of Myself'; I thought a couple stanzas a day for the rest of April would be a good practice. I loved what you said about what are all these stories and poems and writings for? And the conclusion that "My only purpose is to live each moment as fully as possible." Perfect!
ReplyDeleteLove! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
ReplyDelete