Every once in a while I feel such a desperate longing to hold onto everything that is real and true in my life I have the urge to literally reach my arms out, wanting to somehow cling to all of it, hold it close, and prevent it from slipping away.
The thought of missing my husband, knowing I will see him the next day.
The sight of a beautifully patterned curtain against a turquoise blue wall.
The recognition of all the ways love has been nurtured and fought for within the circle of my family.
It is these experiences and so many others that I want to harness into a bottle that can be tightly corked.
These moments make me ache, not only with gratitude and joy but with the bittersweet knowledge that clinging is an impossibility, and these moments are fleeting. None of it can be captured; none of what I have experienced thus far in my life can be held in any permanent form. In these moments of wanting everything to remain as it is, I must accept that this is not the nature of life, and I must continue to enjoy all that is real and true in my life or else miss out on all those beautiful details by dreading the day they change form.
Wow....this is a beautiful post with so much truth, yet for me pain. It takes me back standing next to my mom while she was dying 2 months ago...I just remember thinking all the time...'how do you bottle her smell'...(teehee...thinking about it now, I think I got kind of obsessive with this thought)...I think i just needed to know that i will not forget her...
imagine you could bottle someone's smell....:-) xx
Posted by: linni | October 26, 2009 at 01:57 PM
delicious...but if the memory of it stays in you, doesn't the moment really stay on forever, then? Linda
Posted by: Linda | October 23, 2009 at 04:07 PM
a wise woman once asked me "what if it only gets better from here?" (hmmmmmm, I wonder who that wonderful wise woman was??. I think we cling because i)t's normal, we adapt because we can....
Posted by: anne | October 23, 2009 at 03:51 PM
you got it sister! cause in my experience, when the change does come - ya still have to remember to appreciate every moment as it passes you by. you also have to remember that letting go gives opportunity for more to enter. happy friday! ciao!
Posted by: Nadia | October 23, 2009 at 07:38 AM
this is so beautiful.. thanks for the reminder to appreciate life - as it is, and as it will be. <3
Posted by: Ingrid | October 22, 2009 at 09:24 PM
just wanted to blow you a kiss xo
Posted by: gypsy | October 22, 2009 at 04:28 PM
Exactly! When that longing comes over me I'm learning, slowly, to lean into the tenderness it brings to my heart and then find arms wide enough to embrace the truth and beauty of change.
Posted by: Marianne @ Zen Peacekeeping | October 22, 2009 at 01:01 PM
Such beautiful words...so well put. It really puts tears in my eyes. When something is so wonderful you want it to last forever, but you know it is impossible. The pain of knowing that it'll all go away...the ache. It makes me think of the quote... "Nothing prevents happiness like the memory of happiness." -Andre Gide
Posted by: linda | October 22, 2009 at 10:37 AM
My little guy is 21 months and yesterday we were tickling and wrestling and hugging and loving on each other for several minutes. We were laughing together. We were kissing each other. It was a perfect moment. As I embraced being completely present with him I felt totally aligned with joy and love. I had a moment where I thought, "This time won't last forever. He's growing up so fast!" I could have felt sad, but instead I held him a little closer, I smelled his sweetness and I fully embraced holding him in my arms.
Thanks for the reminder to not cling, but to enjoy the moments as they come.
Posted by: Shannon | October 22, 2009 at 09:45 AM