Ever-ness

“Sometimes the desire to be lost again, as long ago, comes over me like a vapor. With growth into adulthood, responsibilities claimed me, so many heavy coats. I didn’t choose them, I don’t fault them, but it took time to reject them. Now in the spring I kneel, I put my face into the packets of violets, the dampness, the freshness, the sense of ever-ness. Something is wrong, I know it, if I don’t keep my attention on eternity. May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny but useful. May I stay forever in the stream. May I look down upon the wildflower and the bull thistle and the coreopis with the greatest of respect. – Mary Oliver, Upstream

When I turn my attention away from thoughts that do not serve, the world is new and so am I. Dismiss the noise and move to that longing deep within, the whisper that will not go away until heeded.

Pay close attention to what you are paying attention to. Move softly and intently into that sense of ever-ness.

“Attention is the beginning of devotion.” – Mary Oliver