Someone asked me what happened to Juliet Rome. Musing about beauty seems small and inconsiderate in the context of a border crisis, new global tensions, civil unrest and more discordance than I’ve seen in my lifetime. They are a dark subtext for pretty words.
From our tree house I watch the gardener below watering, weeding, spraying and I realize what he does counts. Every little good thing we do in the middle of the crumbling spaces of our lives counts. The spray over the garden beds hits me. However small, what I do, what you do counts because we’re all knit together for a greater good.
We can embrace this paradoxical life that is like grand views of city and gardens through dirty windows. We can be beautifully tattered.
Circus dog is willful. She commands her walk by carrying the first six inches of her leather leash in her mouth. This morning, we ran into a sign. Speed bump. Dead end. And I laughed. Life has given us all a lot of speed bumps and if we’ve let it, dead ends.
So in my newly watered headspace, I am remembering a sermon I once heard about living the well-heeled life of faith and trust in God for provision, protection and direction. And I’m occupied by several things I’ve heard, read and received lately:
Before COVID, I strongly pursued a prison arts ministry—leading a book study and journaling class—in my spare time. Too much illness in the prison system dead-ended that. J. and I have a new opportunity to help plan for and support a ministry launched for youth leaving juvenile detention centers.
Our friends Gail and Bryan shared a podcast based on the book “Effortless” by Greg McKeown. I’ve downloaded the book and can’t wait to read and practice it.
I’ve subscribed to a blog by David Lebovitz that puts me in a bistro chair in a Paris café when I read it. We all need a path that occasionally leads away from where we are.
And for all you grandmillenials out there, I uncovered this article writing a newsletter for a client: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/2021-spring-and-summer-home-trends-36904167 #1 takeaway…more can be more. Decorative accents are coming back. Our author credits our new Zoom lifestyle and the need for styled backdrops. Bring out (or back) your art, books, objects and collectibles. #2 takeaway…aged patinas are bigger than ever this season. Shop secondhand. Give a previously loved piece a new lease on life. Think vintage French provincial to expansive, 19th-century farm tables.
Don’t dead end. Find the thing that sprays life over you, and do it. Be you. And I will go back to being me.
P.S. I’m reminded every day by good people doing their part that there is no substitute for kindness. It is the gift that waters every time.
