Saturday Morning: Flying Low

Posted on by Live & Learn

pellican-flying-low

Today I’m flying low and
I’m not saying a word.
I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.
The world goes on as it must,
the bees in the garden rumbling a little,
the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten.
And so forth.
But I’m taking the day off.
Quiet as a feather.
I hardly move
though really I’m traveling a terrific distance.
Stillness.
One of the doors into the temple.

~ Mary Oliver, Today from A Thousand Mornings

Photo: Robdownunder

20 thoughts on “Saturday Morning: Flying Low”

  1. Line 3 of that poem, in particular — how I wish, Sylvia! As for attaining stillness, I’d need to be totally rewired for that.
    Lovely picture and words, and certainly something to at least attempt to aspire to 🙂

  2. “I hardly move though really I’m traveling a terrific distance.” Love this line–it’s the way I feel when I’m lost in a good book…. Happy Saturday!

  5. “I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.”. If only those Voodoos would sleep peacefully. I’ m going to have to get out the tranquilizers.

  6. To say so much with so few words requires a skill worthy of ambition. But to handle the brush with such finesse… to create such exquisite strokes,
    we must be still.
    How is it that this is so?
    Like sailors, we must practice to set our sails in degrees. There is work and there is wait. Then something unseen catches us and propels us forward with such force and with such ease. Breathless.
    “I hardly move
    though really I’m traveling a terrific distance.
    Stillness.”

  8. Mary Oliver uses the word, Stillness, in her wise writing.. My thoughts on Stillness….Reducing the Influence of the Outer. Stillness must be Implemented..to Keep a Balance or for some to Reclaim Equilibrium Stillness is a Strength. It is a Mindful Action and Needed daily. When one is Still… there is a better opportunity to hear the gentle whispers of direction, reinforcement of worth. In this Stillness of Mind and Body – Wisdom is found, an inner strength flexed, the ability to focus, sharpened, further development of learning to wait patiently, a clarity found and a Spirit refreshed. ..Still waters run deep….. Dave, May Stillness grace your world as you breath in the freshness of Spring. May we all gain Strength & Wisdom in Stillness so we are better Contributors to to Our Self, to All those we Hold Dear in Our Hearts, our Family, our Friends and Further the World at Large ….For me I learned a lot about still, be still, and stillness from the Bible.

    1. Yes Christine. Especially loved: Wisdom is found, an inner strength flexed, the ability to focus, sharpened, further development of learning to wait patiently, a clarity found and a Spirit refreshed. ..Still waters run deep

  9. When the ~ripples~ of the mind subside
    The truth of who we are shines
    In the depths of our being
    as –Stillness–
    Revealing
    All as
    One.

    This stillness cannot be “achieved” by the mind. It is only the process of “letting go” – that allows one to taste the true being. Nature rooted in stillness is a great teacher when we spend time in it – ‘simply observing’ , without engaging the mind to conceptualize anything seen. Meaning seeing things “as they are” without grasping at it mentally through concepts.

    Then what happens is simply magical. As we become ‘aware of our awareness’, the observed(object) and the observer(me- the subject) simply disappear, leaving only observing or pure awareness.

    This point is the beginning of our individual journey of “terrific distance” from mind to Heart.

    This poem so beautifully “shifts” us beyond mind, to that still-dimension. Thanks Dave!

    With much Love,
    K.

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