Last week’s blog post honored the treasures of the land, with its power to heal, and its gifts of providing food, clothing, and shelter. The land grounds us, provides stability under our feet, nourishes our souls and feeds our bodies.

However, work is often required to receive these gifts, especially the strength and courage to love others, even the unlovely.

Especially the unlovely.

April is National Poetry Month, and I give you famed poet Mary Oliver, who declares that her “work” is loving the world, especially the natural world. The sketch below illustrates her intent.

Image: Dharma Comics

 

 

My Work is Loving the World

My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird –
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,

Which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.

~ Mary Oliver

 

In honor of National Poetry Month, take the time to celebrate poets everywhere.Β  Then, contemplate a better world, and take action to practice the Golden Rule as the New Testament book of Luke 6:31 proclaims:

AndΒ asΒ yeΒ wouldΒ thatΒ menΒ shouldΒ doΒ toΒ you,Β doΒ yeΒ alsoΒ toΒ them likewise.

 

Special Word of the Week: CATHEXIS

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “Cathexis” is defined as the concentration of mental energy on one particular person, idea, or object. Although the word contains some negative or neutral connotations, it also suggests this idea:Β 

WHEN YOU CARE ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE’S WELFARE AND LEARNING, YOU BEGIN TO ACCEPT THEIR DIFFERENCES — EVEN APPRECIATE THEM.

 


Can you contribute some lines (poetry or prose) that have inspired you to practice the Golden Rule?

Have you noticed acts of kindness this week, this month, or this year? Tell us please!