the balcony and mindfulness

Mindful

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
about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant -
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations.

Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these -
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

~ Mary Oliver, from Why I Wake Early

Ellie and I are enjoying the rare treat of sunshine today. As Ellie slept I slipped out onto our balcony with a Mary Oliver book and a cup of tea. I read this poem moments before Ellie woke and, watching her play with water, didn't have to look far to see delight. School, by the way, went quite well yesterday. As my friend Gretchen said, it's a delight to watch your children do well all on their own.