Love
What We Love
“People
love pretty much the same things best. A writer looking for subjects
inquires not after what he loves best, but after what he alone loves
at all.”
Annie
Dillard (The Writing Life)
We
were driving back home from Meridian yesterday just about sunset when
my friend, Anna, said, 'I love this time of day.' I looked to the
west where the sun had already dropped below the horizon and
darkening buildings lined a pale lavender sky. 'Yes, I said, it's the
light.' We had spent the afternoon discussing politics and life with
our friend Leslie, whose greatest love is animals of any stripe. She
told us of having deer at her back door, how their ears twitched and
the long neck of the female could look all the way backward and moved
like a wave when she ran. At Mr. Ed's house, we watched tiny
hummingbirds hover at the feeders, darting in and out on invisible
wings. He told us that those wings move in a figure 8, and that the
hummingbirds will leave Mississippi to fly to Central America on
September 14th. The date was precise, as though they might
have a calendar tucked under those bitty wings. We admired his
vermillion red hibiscus, big as cereal bowls, and lasting only one
day each. He commented that something about the recent weather had brought
them to life for the first time this summer; he thought it might be the humidity. We could hear the pride in his
voice.
We
all love something individual and specific. A particular color, a
type of texture, the softness of sand underfoot, the sound of waves
splashing or birds calling. We tune-in to nature, resonate with its
frequency, are restored by contact with it. When we take the time to
notice the things we love, we are reconnected with the great heart of
love itself. We look, we touch, we smile and feel good all over. For
that moment, the darkness falls away, the angry voices and caustic
remarks evaporate, and we find ourselves at peace, content.
There
are some wild flowers growing beside the wall that encloses my back
yard. They are bright red and shaped like lanterns. The stamen sticks
out one end like a tiny yellow water fountain. I don't know what they are,
weeds for sure, but every time I see them, my heart leaps. They grab
my eyes and send little jolts of joy in my direction. We humans were
meant to experience happiness. In these days of negativity,
connecting with the things we love will help us to remember that.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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