It’s easy to take life for granted. I have a butt-shaped indentation on my couch to prove it.
Every morning I go from my bed to my desk to my couch. Most days I muster up enough energy to go to the gym. But I spent the majority of my waking hours planted in a chair, a couch or my bed.
Not very inspiring. And I have to admit, as someone who loves to use my writing to inspire others, I was in dire need of a shot of inspiration.
I found it on a trip to Arizona recently. What I discovered in gold autumn leaves and rust colored red mountains was an insane amount of gratitude.
I felt this tiny.
In a world that was this big.
And I realized that all around us are pockets of inspiration.
It is in that big sky with stars that really do twinkle like diamonds, in the wind that gracefully shakes autumn leaves and in the transition from one season to the next that does so seamlessly, automatically, without fail.
We’re often just too busy to witness it.
While we’re running around preparing fancy holiday dinners and finding the “right” outfit for our next party, we’re MISSING it!!
And that makes me so sad. It reminds me of a poem I wrote last year in December. Here it is. Hope it will remind all of us to pause a little during the busiest time of the year.
Winter Poem
I don’t worry about getting to the mall on time,
Or pushing past cars to get to the head of the line.
I only worry about the bright leaves like lemons hanging on a fading tree.
The piles of yellow, orange and red that start slow,
And cascade down like molasses,
Gradual, then
Falling quick and swinging
Like a pendulum,
Back and forth,
Tumbling ever so carefully
Like white grains of sand,
Sliding down silky formed hourglass,
Into piles of time.
I grieve the bareness of the decrepit trees that remain
Standing like tombstones in a funeral line
Quietly choosing its next victim.
I see the child waiting to kick the fallen pile,
The season in transition
Preparing to change hands as athletes passing a baton,
Exchanging life from fall to winter,
And though those mounds of bright yellow leaves are an accumulation of summers and springs long ago,
Happy youth,
Well-worn memories,
I bemoan the loss.
I grieve for those who don’t see it
Honking their horns
In a futile attempt to go an inch closer to nowhere.
I worry about them and the world
And the preciousness of those leaves
Passing by my window,
Falling forever unnoticed.
I worry about who will pick them up
Or if they will stay and melt into the ground.
As I move forward,
I am conscious of the passing
and sadness creeps
anxiety beckons
as I realize
I cannot control it,
And though I’d love to sit there and pause
And watch as another leaf falls,
I know I too cannot stop.
Mahesh Raj Mohan
December 5, 2011 at 5:32 pmLovely poem, Brandi!
This is my favorite part:
“Like white grains of sand,
Sliding down silky formed hourglass,
Into piles of time.”
And the message is well taken, too. 🙂
Brandi
December 5, 2011 at 7:23 pmAw thanks Mahesh! Appreciate your comment. Never know how those poems I write go. I have a stockpile of them on my computer.
Sherrie Koretke
December 7, 2011 at 11:59 pmGreat poem and inspiration, Brandi. I love how you gained a new perspective when you traveled to Arizona. I think travel is a great way to see life in a different way.
And yes, the call to slow down during the holidays can’t be stated enough. Life goes so fast and it seems to go even faster during this time.
Sherrie
Brandi
December 8, 2011 at 12:01 amThanks Sherrie! I’m missing my Arizona. And agree wholeheartedly. Traveling always opens my eyes to new perspectives. Hope you have a Happy holiday Sherrie!
Margarita
December 8, 2011 at 12:39 amBrandi, I can SOOO relate. I do the same thing: work out some days and spend weekdays at home working from my computer. Thank you for this much-needed gorgeous dose of inspiration. The poem is just amazing. I’m so glad you posted it here. I’d love to read more of your poetry. 🙂
Brandi
December 8, 2011 at 12:43 amThanks Margarita! I have tons of poems saved on my computer. But honestly, most people can’t understand them. =) It’s just a compilation of a stream of my unconscious. At least, this one seemed a little more clear. Going to Arizona really made me realize how much I take for granted and how the whole world is out there. We just need to take the time to really see it.
Margarita
December 8, 2011 at 12:40 amOh, and the pictures are just breathtaking!
Crystal
December 8, 2011 at 2:14 amHey! Stumbled on your blog and I love all the inspiration 🙂 I definitely feel like people don’t slow down enough to take everything in–myself included. I, too, have a butt-shaped indention in my couch.
Brandi
December 8, 2011 at 6:29 amThanks Crystal! Happy you found my blog. And glad I’m not the only one. =)
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