Auguries of Innocence

"To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour."
~William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

John often smiled and said, "You're a trippy chick." He did that because I would see and hear little things, things in nature, things in odd colors or shapes. Things that most people would walk by without a glance stopped me in my tracks (and still do). I'd ponder them, most times with a whimsical mindset. It never was and never is anything tremendous and awe inspiring... just simple things, like maybe a white pebble glistening on blacktop, or a leaf caught in a fence and whipping like a flag in the wind, or the sound of two birds on opposite sides of the street calling to each other, or a bug trudging back and forth as if pacing. Stuff like that. I've always thought it's the artist in me, or the poet, or... hell, I'm just plain weird. I don't care. So I'm a trippy chick. So what.

For me, it's those little things that turn a good life into an extraordinary life, that turn a fine day into a fantastical day, that take what's bad and makes it better. Late last night as I lay in bed, snugged between my two pups, my thoughts turned to this - hmm... let's call it an ability... yes - this ability in me. I'd been contemplating (fretting over) my current feeble financial status, when suddenly the rain started hammering on the slopped metal roof of my loft. "How utterly beautiful," I thought, and heard Michael Crawford singing, "...turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light, and listen to the music of the night..."**

So, to divert myself from what could have been a long, sleepless night spent thinking, thinking, thinking, I made a mental ten point list of the little things, free things, that never fail to "make it better."

1. The scent of cedars
2. Moonlight on the river
3. Pebbles, stones, rocks
4. The sound of one of my dogs sighing in his sleep
5. The crackle of the fire in the woodstove
6. The scent of coffee brewing
7. Birdsong
8. Walking in the rain
9. The sound of the cat purring
10. Seeing genuine smiles
I slept quite well, thank you.

**Andrew Lloyd Webber,Music of the Night