wise words

It's been a long, not too lazy, not too busy Saturday. We have a certain baby who skipped her afternoon nap. She was cranky all afternoon and evening, but we made it. She has so many smiles for her daddy, literally lighting up the room, and that brings me great joy.

We went to a bookshop this afternoon and I got a new book, Mitten Strings for God by Katrina Kenison. The gist of it is this: families are too busy; slow down and you will gain the opportunity to create and celebrate discovery, wonder, intimacy, creativity, joy. Of course, when I spotted the poem in the opening pages, I flipped through the rest of the book looking for more poetry. Here is what I found. These words of wisdom are, among other things, what I am striving toward.

For the Children

- by Gary Snyder

The rising hills, the slopes,

of statistics

lie before us.

The steep climb

of everything, going up,

up, as we all go down.

In the next century

or the one beyond that,

they say,

are valleys, pastures,

we can meet there in peace

if we make it.

To climb these coming crests

one word to you, to

you and your children:

stay together

learn the flowers

go light.