Journal

Beauty was not simply something to behold; it was something one could do. —Toni Morrison

Feeling a little blue today… almost all day. Felt like I could use a friend. I didn’t feel like it but I went out for a walk. It’s a beautiful evening and spring flowers are in bloom. A gentleman walked by and his perfume/cologne lingered in the air. It was a heady mix of the scents from flowers and the lovely scent of his cologne that helped to lift my spirits. I wonder and suppose that it’s all a kind of aromatherapy, where scent molecules travel from ‘the olfactory nerves’ to the emotional center in the brain.

I suppose movement helps when feeling a bit blue as well… as does music… and then there’s always ice cream:). When we feel blue, as we all do sometimes, move closer to something and/or someone that brings you joy.

For an oldie but goodie… here’s a r&b song that sounds pretty sweet if you’d like to have a listen here.

xo

God Spoke Today

God spoke today in flowers, 
and I, who was waiting on words, 
almost missed the conversation.

From What Holds Us: New and Selected Poems

In a way, but not entirely, my attraction to theology and matters of the Divine came about by the writings and perhaps heart of the Trappist Monk Thomas Merton. As a bookseller I cam across his Seven Story Mountain which, perhaps, changed my life. (Though New Seeds of Contemplation is one of my favorites.) I came to understand that I wanted to be a writer and I wanted to be a writer like Thomas Merton. If that was to be, then in that case, I should study and study theology so that I could write like Merton. With any sense of a proper education one begins to learn that there is only one Merton and to write like him would be impossible. But not all was lost… I could still write… and even better (?) I could write like myself.

I am thinking of Merton this morning. I’m not sure why, though I think of him often. It feels as though I walk with him in life. As a writer and thinker of Divine things I feel a certain connection with him.

After moving for a bit these last weeks, and this past summer, I feel like being still. I feel like being quiet. I feel like thinking about things and writing about things. Merton as a monk reminds me of the gifts of silence and contemplation. I feel like doing so because it feels good, much like a nice glass of wine or the sweetest kiss can be delicious. I hope to be quiet for a while and write. What feels good for you right now these autumn days, in the midst of transition into holiday mode, along with season and time change? As the Spanish say, cuentame, tell me…

(for a fun and not so quiet moment with Björk, click here:)