Once again I learned that same old lesson. The day that looks gloomy from inside can be glorious when you’re out in it.
A couple of weeks ago we had a cold, wet, cloudy Sunday, the sky packed full of clouds. I was not eager to go out again into the dreary weather after my two short dog walks. I had a couple of big computer projects to work on. Well, the first was my MerryThoughts letter, which I almost always write on Sunday morning. Then another bigger task took a few hours. Well, my body was crying out for a walk by the time I was close to finishing. Back, neck, shoulder all so sick and tired of sitting at my desk.
Despite the look of the day, I bundled up, put on my waterproof boots, and went out, with an especially lovely walking meditation to listen to.
So you already know, then, that the walk was absolutely glorious. I went over to a little neighborhood park where a friend has carved a narrow path through the tiny woods. There’s a stream running through, too. Charming. Lovely. Soul satisfying. The wet only accentuated the fall colors against the black bark and branches, just as it does. Remember? Remember? Just as it always does. I did not need sun to jazz up the color or open my eyes wider. It was all there, all the beauty, the glory of nature, just as it always is, at the ready, no matter what the bigger elements decide to do. Always.
The chill on my face was enlivening, as the rest of me was bundled up. My feet were dry. (You know what they say–there’s no bad weather; only bad clothes. Remember?) I had some beautiful words to listen to. I felt refreshed, rejuvenated, reborn, both during and after that absolutely glorious walk. I felt bouncy and boundless, full of life, renewed and wanting to tell everyone this thing that I had (once again) discovered.
And I felt chastened, as well. How many times have I learned that lesson? So many! I once had a card and still have a print that reads, “Be patient. Sometimes you have to learn the same thing over and over again.” Boy oh boy. I will probably learn this again, too, since I am a human being. But as with meditation, I don’t have to learn it. I get to. Yeah, I get to.
“You are the one who declared a gloomy day as gloomy! In fact, there is neither a joyful nor a gloomy day, only a mind that evaluates what that day is!”― Mehmet Murat ildan
“And from the midst of cheerless gloom/I passed to bright unclouded day.” ― Emily Bronte
“When a bad thing happens a pessimist thinks, ‘just my luck’, an optimist thinks, ‘this will pass’, and a teacher thinks, ‘what’s the lesson here?’.” ― Garry Fitchett
If you’re looking for my cards or art, you’ll find all of that on my website. If you enjoy these letters, feel free to forward this one to anyone you think might like it. And if someone forwarded this one to you, you can sign up here to receive the letters right in your Inbox. Finally, you’ll find past letters and poems here.
Thanks for listening,
Kay
P.S. MerryThoughts is the name of my first book, out of print at the moment. The word is a British one, referring both to a wishbone and to the ritual of breaking the wishbone with the intention of either having a wish granted or being the one who marries first, thus the “merry thoughts.”