Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Things I Find In Space


This is where I am sitting as I type these words. 


I just put my wool socks on, along with my green fleece jacket - right over the top of my pajamas, which I plan on wearing all day. It's gray and cold and still around here. The lamps in my room cast a yellow hue that warms me. A kind of "at home" warmth. The kind I used to feel when sitting in front of the fireplace in my parents' home or next to my grandfather under the lamp in their living room. Morning coffee fills the air.


If I stand up and peek out my window, this is what I see. There is heaviness in the sky. A settling. The last bits of fall refusing to depart. Still bright with color, they dare winter come. I am always amazed at the ones that survive, only letting go for buds and blossom. Proclaiming to Spring their acceptance of all things. A final letting go.


Jake snores at my feet. It's a funny noise. A sort of nasal sound with a sweet little squeak at the end. He never leaves my side, no matter what. His position unusual in this picture as he most always lies across my feet. This shot was prior to putting on the wool socks...I'm thinking my toes were just a little too cold for his liking. Snort..squeak.........Snort..squeak........Snort..squeak... The rhythm of contentment.


Behind me, Maggie has taken the high ground. Early on I acquiesced to the whole "being on the bed thing". There are too many days when bed is as far as I get and Maggie's presence brings quiet consolation on even the worst of days. Our "real" bedspread lies under the two quilts you see in this picture. Dog hair, without a doubt, is the bane of my existence. Right now I scarcely can hear her, she sleeps so soundly.


Past Maggie, through the door of our bedroom, lays Jenni the cat. Her bed its in the hallway under the light switch. From the moment we brought Jenni into this house, she has chosen to lie in this spot. We eventually placed her bed here. I believe it is because from this vantage point she can literally see into every room on the main level of our home. As you can see if you click on the picture to enlarge it, she keeps one eye open...just in case. This morning is no different. We watch each other.

Even in my moving about, even in the clicking of camera and key stroke, these peaceful creatures remain still.

The furnace kicks on and off, warming me and reminding me of the filter that needs to be changed. The smell of last year's dust always brings me back to childhood. Do you remember? Smelling the furnace for the first time in the fall. It lies somewhere in my brain between the smell of new tennis shoes, crayons and old school buses.

The computer processor hums in the background - ramping up and down with purposes unknown.

Another confused chickadee mistakes my window for the sky. I look out, and down, to see if a warm hand is needed...

not this time.


Most people's lives are cluttered up with things. Things to do, things to think about, things of "stuff". Minds filled with clutter, lives out of balance. Words easily spoken from experience.

Releasing ourselves from this clutter - if only momentarily - opens in us a holy space. A tender letting go of thoughts and emotions. Allowing us to settle into the depth of Awareness. Unattached to the clutter in my mind and in my day, I roam about in this limitless space, where dogs snore and computers hum. Free from ego, free from dependency on things of this world - transcending "what ifs" and "should haves".

When I am no longer identified with these things, who I Am is no longer imprisoned, and I am free. Freedom arising from a place of space. And from this space emerges a peace that is not of this world.

This is the peace of God.


I picked up these pine cones from our back yard about a week ago. I wish technology was advanced enough to provide "smell-o-vision", because the aroma of these sticky cones is nothing short of heavenly and I would really like to share it with you. Who knows...Apple, in all of their astounding "touch" capabilities, may bring "scratch-n-sniff" to a whole new level! Until then, you just have to take my word for it. Heavenly.

We've lived here five years. This is the first time I have even really noticed the pine cones, let alone made an effort to go out and pick them up. Simple things. Beautiful things.

Things I find in Space.

2 comments:

deb aka abcsofra said...

I loved your space. Thank you for sharing it. Across the miles, it calmed my being as I listened to the snore, hum, and silence of it all. And yes, I did smell the pine cones. Could I have been imagining it all?

Theresa said...

Thanks Deb, it's a good space to be!