“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.” Albert Einstein
During the past five weeks, I’ve been paying attention to all the small changes surrounding me in my own backyard, as well as the fields near my home.
The splash of daffodils and intricate delicate small vinca vines carpeting underneath my garden fence. I feel spring calling out to me, rising and reminding me of just how re-birth can be in our earth. When I get down on my knees I see so many more connections between the earth, rocks and ground cover. With so much more time I can finally prune the branches and see how the rhododendron might come back this year!
My favorite scent is from the lily of the valley, which reminds me of my childhood home. Instead of trying to find someone to help me, I am doing the chores myself. Sometimes I just guess that what I am doing is good. There are long days when I need to get outside and move around just because it feels so good to walk and see the natural world. At North Beach, kids are enjoying the stretches of beach and looking at shells and rocks and shorebirds.
Life unfolds each hour, and both the external landscape and internal landscape changes. The wind, the sky and clouds and sun all create their own mystery. I am grateful I have this afternoon to enjoy this place.
Even though I am alone with my dog, I have discovered new ways to walk through the trails and new recipes to try at night.
It is a comfort to sit down with a book and delight in reading the poems of Galway Kinnell or Robert Frost or Mary Oliver or Walt Whitman again. Each of us is in the same boat, but it’s how we use this boat to make our life meaningful during a stressful time.
For me, I like structure, since as a teacher and single mother that is how I created a balance in my life of work, play and love.
So now I face the challenge of planning each day so I can take care of my garden, my dog, my housework and find special time to practice piano and read and do some artwork. I reach out to my friends by calling or sending notes. Keeping in touch with my son who lives in Denver is another way that helps me know he is safe.
So right now I am doing my best to practice patience, kindness and respect for all living things and see the mystery.
Nan Toby Tyrrell
Port Townsend
