Let’s not begin
with snow.

I don’t want to begin
with snow.

I want to begin
with flowers
& spring green
& swollen rivers racing toward the sea.

I want to begin
after —
after everything begins.

Things mostly begin
underground —
in the damp
& the dirt
& the dark.

Underground —
where things are murky
& messy
& sometimes hard
& often tangled.

I want to begin
after that!

I want to begin
with hope
& promise
& softness
& color.

Haven’t we all had enough of hard?

Please
please
don’t misunderstand me.

I know
that suffering can be the beginning of
compassion
& character
& eyes that can see in the dark.

At least
if you allow it to be.

I am not discounting any of that.

But do we
always
have to get there
that way?

Can’t we
sometimes
take a
different path?

True, the new path might be hard in its own way.

Allowing pleasure
& generosity
& ease
& joy
feels vulnerable.

Vulnerability can be hard too.

But will we really be
any less
for not having suffered
even more?

I suspect not.

So that is what I wish for you today:
Even more.

Even more joy.
Even more rest.
Even more love.
Even more kindness.

I’m doing a thing! (The thing being a spring nature walk in Calumet.)

Do come join me!

“You, too, can be carved anew by the depths of your devotion.”

~ Mary Oliver

for years, i’ve had a desire to be fluent in another language.

for just as many years, i’ve made exactly zero progress on it.

i tried to convince myself to learn japanese.
i tried to convince myself to become more proficient in german.
i tried to convince myself to learn italian.
i tried to convince myself to learn spanish.

i had practical reasons for – and, i thought, some level of interest in – learning all of those languages. still, nothing ever happened.

last week, in a moment of clarity, i realized why i was procrastinating.

the language i wanted to learn was french, and french seemed impractical.

when i spoke the reason out loud, it seemed so silly. why did i need a practical reason to learn french? why couldn’t i learn french simply because i wanted to?

and so i am. learning french, that is.

no convincing or forcing required.

for me, the act of learning french is an absolute pleasure. everything about it makes me happy.

it’s the best way to learn, really. i don’t know how i forgot this.

it brings me joy to imagine that all of the natural treasures i find now are gifts from (angel) atlas. often, they are blue jay feathers – my favorite.

today’s gifts, received while on a trail run:

• tiny mushrooms that were the size & shape of wild pansies but poppy red (with a black splotch) in color.
• a buttercup yellow moth.
• a mushroom that looked like it had been caramelized and then covered in rainbow sprinkles. (i did not take a bite, but oh, how i wanted to.)
• a crooked tree on the aptly named applesauce trail that was full of tiny sweet wild apples. as i tossed my apple cores on the side of the trail, i pretended i was johnny appleseed.

when i cultivate qualities like presence + appreciation + attention + curiosity, i walk through the world in a state of joyful wonder.

today,
i am
luscious
lemon
lollipops,
bursting
into song.

nature is my dear dear friend.

she is yours too, you know.

often, if you look closely, you will see her waving & smiling with delight at you.