Into The Presence of Still Water

 By Maryanna Gabriel (well not really)

The Peace of Wild Things   

             

When despair for the world grows in me    
And I awake in the night to the least sound
In fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, 
I go and lie down where the wood drake rests
In his beauty on the water
And the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things
Who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.
I come into the prescence of still water,
And I feel above me the day blind-stars waiting with their light.
For a time I rest in the grace of the world, 
And I am free. 
        - Wendell Berry

Mail That Resonates Deeply

 By Maryanna Gabriel 

Sometimes people write to say they are walking the Camino and that my book inspired them. Letters like these are lovely to receive, and of course, I love it. This week when one came describing my writing and I was barrelling my way through phrases such as "profoundly human", "ache and release", "and allowing movement to become meaning" - huh? And then there was the "rain-soaked roads of France" (there weren't any). At the halfway mark of this gushing epistle, I stopped at the "emotional cartography of coming home to oneself" and "the true destination is inward" then backed up, my hackles rising. 

"Snap out of it," I told myself. "This fan mail is AI written." The wash of praise immediately shriveled and dried. "The scam is coming. The con. The hit." 

Yup.

Would I like to be part of her community and "resonate deeply" with those who find "solace in reflection" to say nothing of the "sacred ordinary of living and loss." Yeeeeeesh. Of course, she would promote me for a modest sum.

Okay, a time waster. I thanked her politely and moved on. Undetered, she wrote back, a veritable fount of flattery, which I can't be bothered to repeat. So I blocked her. The difference between artificial intelligence and that of humankind's is intuition. I'll be using mine, thanks. See ya later. 

The movie offers were the same. I was sort of hooked there too, but a former professor kindly straightened me out. The same outfit had also tried with him. One has to be so careful. 📫

Working On My Cosy

 By Maryanna Gabriel

A fresh month. The good thing about the beginning of November is that everything is new. The days of the month are still pure and undiscovered. Plus there is still time to work on goals. You know, set at the beginning of the year? Those goals. 

We have had some terrific storms, so now I am working on my cosy. Sweaters are being resurrected from the back of the closet. Then there is the fluffy dressing gown. The putting up of little lights, heaters warming, logs on the fire, lighting candles. In the kitchen there is soup and baking, and satiating a yearning for hot cereal. Have taken to watching old British shows as I knead dough. Not sure why my sourdough starter is not very thick.

 And getting crafty with the turn of the season...cards to make, sewing, and needle work to think of. The joy of curling up with a soft blankie and a hot cuppa with a good book. And I am listening to music more. Last night I was dreaming of music.

So,the deep dive of this interior time has a lot to be said for it.