Slowing Down

 We had an enjoyable evening at Claudia's home and all were glad it didn't snow.  Our pot luck had a nice selection of all the right nourishing things, with lots of time to chat and share stories of our lives.

Our read this month was "Upstream" by Mary Oliver, a well-known poet who gained her language from the books she surrounded herself with while growing up.  This was a collection of short essays cobbled together which gave insight into those things which influenced Mary's life; in essence her memoir.  There was no strong conclusion, rather reflections which each reader could consider.  We did not delve in with deep discussion about the book; rather we shared our individual thoughts as we reflected on our own lives.  Chris shared a few of her favorite Mary Oliver poems which told of Mary's relationship with the environment.  I said I was amazed that one person could spend days observing a spider and it's nest.  I don't have the patience to spend my time that way, yet, it was pointed out, I do have the patience to concentrate my focus on making a basket.  Judy B and Debbie shared stories about themselves and their families; memories which sprang forth as they spent time reflecting on the past.  

The whole world changes slowly day by day; nothing remains the same.  There are ties we don't see in the history of our lives, how things fit together, their influences on events and how we change as a result.  Not only people, but places change too.  We reflected on the history of Entiat and how many things changed after Rocky Reach Dam was built.  Entire livelihoods had to shift and accommodate.  Not always for the worst, just different.

Parts of this book really drew me in and seemed so clear while other parts left me dazed and confused - too deep for me to grasp any clarity.  But it did make me pause and consider.  I think, to really understand, this book should be read, bit by bit, with a group and discussed each step of the way.  That would slow you down long enough to take in all Mary wants us to learn.

Moments of our lives spent in nature, in the world, absorbing what surrounds us, are time wisely spent.  In Mary Oliver's words: "I would say that there exist a thousand unbreakable links between each of us and everything else, and that our dignity and our chances are one,  The farthest star and the mud at our feet are a family; and there is not decency or sense in honoring one thing, or a few things, and then closing the list.  The pine tree, the leopard, the Platte River, and ourselves - we are at risk together, or we are on our way to a sustainable world together.  We are each other's destiny.    

I could not be a poet without the natural world.  Someone else could.  But not me.  For me the door to the woods is the door to the temple."