This spoke to me so much today, as I sit looking at a pile of dishes I ignored for a long walk in nature. Perfection doesn't exist and I'm even beginning to think "balance" is overrated. It is what it is and it's all good. Thank you, James.
Accept it all for what it is... momentary presence... leads to the much needed rest of the mind to just sit with it all... sending you the energy to give yourself the biggest bear hug possible.
I too love “mud-puddling.” This is what I come back to again and again in my writing—how extraordinary the ordinary can be, even when it’s messy and muddy.
this resonated deeply. i’ve had to impose my own moratorium on podcasts trying to make me happier and more productive because always focusing on us being “more” somehow implies we are currently less. nothing wrong of course with wanting to improve our lives, but when it becomes an obsession fueled by a fix-it culture it’s very hard to be content let alone happy. as buddhism teaches: “no mud, no lotus”. this isn’t toxic positivity, it’s the reality that in nature growth more often than not stems from decay and the dark. and why would human beings, nature at their core despite constantly wanting to “other” every other living essence as “animal”, be the exception?
I read/skimmed this post at the time, loving the quotidian images, but then with my Brave Writing teacher, used the writing prompt, and unearthed all the mouldy richness of the true message. Thanks. Love your work 🙏
This spoke to me so much today, as I sit looking at a pile of dishes I ignored for a long walk in nature. Perfection doesn't exist and I'm even beginning to think "balance" is overrated. It is what it is and it's all good. Thank you, James.
so glad you ignored those dishes, Ellen!
Accept it all for what it is... momentary presence... leads to the much needed rest of the mind to just sit with it all... sending you the energy to give yourself the biggest bear hug possible.
Thank you, Corie!
Love the honest metaphors. We all need permission to slosh around in the mud sometimes ❤️
I too love “mud-puddling.” This is what I come back to again and again in my writing—how extraordinary the ordinary can be, even when it’s messy and muddy.
this resonated deeply. i’ve had to impose my own moratorium on podcasts trying to make me happier and more productive because always focusing on us being “more” somehow implies we are currently less. nothing wrong of course with wanting to improve our lives, but when it becomes an obsession fueled by a fix-it culture it’s very hard to be content let alone happy. as buddhism teaches: “no mud, no lotus”. this isn’t toxic positivity, it’s the reality that in nature growth more often than not stems from decay and the dark. and why would human beings, nature at their core despite constantly wanting to “other” every other living essence as “animal”, be the exception?
Wisely said!
Spot on for these times. Feeling rather than denying or peptalking. Sitting with rather than rising above. Going through rather than around or above.
I'm reminded of the closing lines of Galway Kinnell's Book of Nightmares. Addessing his then-infant son, he invites both grief and a dark-humored joy:
Sancho Fergus! Don’t cry!
Or else, cry.
On the body,
on the blued flesh, when it is
laid out, see if you can find
the one flea which is laughing.
a beautiful poem, and i love the idea of "mud-puddling" to embrace the messiness of life 🧡
Just what I need this morning. Thank you!
Love the poem and your suggested prompt. Will definitely be reflecting on that throughout the day. Thank you!
‘Yes’ to mud-puddling,
to loving our world as-is.
‘No thanks’ to fix hacks.
I read/skimmed this post at the time, loving the quotidian images, but then with my Brave Writing teacher, used the writing prompt, and unearthed all the mouldy richness of the true message. Thanks. Love your work 🙏