If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. ~Nadine Stair
Crabapple Blossoms
We must have heaven, at least a little once in a while, in order to navigate earth.
My husband and I bought ourselves a fountain for our anniversary. I am creating a haven, and I thought it would add to the nirvana atmosphere. It certainly does. There are many other components of a haven, too, though; some can be real and some can be pretend. What you can't actually obtain can be summoned from memory or imagination or books once read long ago.
When I was a kid, my haven was my suburban back yard. It was a whole world to me, and the rabbits and the crows and the Queen Anne's Lace were my best friends.
Now I have a fountain and bird feeders and wind chimes and chickens. Yup, chickens. That part is hard to explain. You have to watch them poking around in their silly way to understand how they contribute to the bliss factor.
My husband and I bought ourselves a fountain for our anniversary. I am creating a haven, and I thought it would add to the nirvana atmosphere. It certainly does. There are many other components of a haven, too, though; some can be real and some can be pretend. What you can't actually obtain can be summoned from memory or imagination or books once read long ago.
When I was a kid, my haven was my suburban back yard. It was a whole world to me, and the rabbits and the crows and the Queen Anne's Lace were my best friends.
Now I have a fountain and bird feeders and wind chimes and chickens. Yup, chickens. That part is hard to explain. You have to watch them poking around in their silly way to understand how they contribute to the bliss factor.
Hi, my name is Rita, and I'm a chicken.
You have to create bliss in order to withstand the grieving, when it comes.
But bliss is it's own reward, too - worth doing just for the doing of it. Some say that paradise is a garden (the Koran) and some say it's a library (Jorge Luis Borges). What if it's a garden where you can read?
But bliss is it's own reward, too - worth doing just for the doing of it. Some say that paradise is a garden (the Koran) and some say it's a library (Jorge Luis Borges). What if it's a garden where you can read?
The Bliss Chairs under the Crabapple Tree
I like to say "create your bliss" rather than "follow your bliss", as Joseph Campbell did. To follow something means that it exists somewhere else, away from you. And you might never find it. If you create it, it's yours. Always. Now, and in memory forever.
Spring reminds us to remember to create our bliss. In fact, it forces itself upon us with a big sloppy kiss. The Greeks and Romans and Norse all held wild bacchanalian fertility festivals to honor the power of Spring. They understood that Spring, and the deities associated with the season, controlled mighty, far-reaching kingdoms. The ancients said that all the gods bow before Venus. That is how important love and flowers and sex and seeds are to life, and to living.
Many cultures continue to celebrate Spring fetes and fairs and holidays today. Even grim Soviet Russia celebrated May Day. I think these Spring happiness parties are so ubiquitous around the world because they are so necessary.
As a people, we have gotten away from this, to our detriment. We expect ourselves to just keep grinding away in our offices. I don't think it works. It just makes us crazy. Like if we just keep repeating these autonomic motions, somehow we'll forget how much we want to be outside.
Spring reminds us to remember to create our bliss. In fact, it forces itself upon us with a big sloppy kiss. The Greeks and Romans and Norse all held wild bacchanalian fertility festivals to honor the power of Spring. They understood that Spring, and the deities associated with the season, controlled mighty, far-reaching kingdoms. The ancients said that all the gods bow before Venus. That is how important love and flowers and sex and seeds are to life, and to living.
Many cultures continue to celebrate Spring fetes and fairs and holidays today. Even grim Soviet Russia celebrated May Day. I think these Spring happiness parties are so ubiquitous around the world because they are so necessary.
As a people, we have gotten away from this, to our detriment. We expect ourselves to just keep grinding away in our offices. I don't think it works. It just makes us crazy. Like if we just keep repeating these autonomic motions, somehow we'll forget how much we want to be outside.
I ask myself why? Why? Why do I do it? Why do I keep crossing the road?
The words "haven" and "heaven" must derive from similar roots. We can surely survive without an actual, present heaven - we're doing it every day we're alive. But can we survive without a haven? A port, a refuge, a slice of goodness pie? Why would we want to?
River of Dappled Shadows
So many people forget to make themselves happy.
It is tempting to think you need lots of "stuff" to make a haven. After all, I bought a fountain. It isn't truly necessary, though. All it really requires is a state of mind. Even the concrete and asphalt can be beautiful in the spring.
It is tempting to think you need lots of "stuff" to make a haven. After all, I bought a fountain. It isn't truly necessary, though. All it really requires is a state of mind. Even the concrete and asphalt can be beautiful in the spring.
On Beauty May I Walk
You probably don't need an actual fountain to find your bliss. Maybe all you need is a fragment of lyric in your head:
On a mountain
By a fountain
Flowers blooming everywhere
With Venus and with Cupid
The picture's very clear.
-The System, "Don't Disturb this Groove"
The truth is, I don't know what it is that you need to create your bliss. Yours might be different than mine.
But I do know that you must create it.
Let the Gods of Spring roll over you and have their way with you. Celebrate your surrender to all that is bigger and more beautiful and stronger than your daily existence.
Then you'll recognize heaven, when you get there.
Your heaven.
But I do know that you must create it.
Let the Gods of Spring roll over you and have their way with you. Celebrate your surrender to all that is bigger and more beautiful and stronger than your daily existence.
Then you'll recognize heaven, when you get there.
Your heaven.
Are you going to eat that?
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