6:45 a.m. – ish this morning. I’m walking Cove Island Beach. I reach the breakwall, and pause. It’s hard not to look out into this and not feel Small. The gentle breeze off the ocean. The lapping of the waves on the shoreline. The cloud formations. The warmth in early October. The thin strip of sunlight on the horizon.
Mark Oliver Everett: Sometimes that beauty is too much for me to handle. Do you know that feeling? When something is just too beautiful? When someone says something or writes something or plays something that moves you to the point of tears, maybe even changes you.
And this beauty, the landscape in front, and the words from Audible being pumped into my head from Jonathan Franzen’s new novel, Crossroads, made me feel exactly that: Just too beautiful.
Memories of my 2014 post Lit Boy come flushing through. 50 years from now, when I’m long gone, during some Good Books undergraduate class, this book will be on the reading list for the Fall Semester. An American Classic. Hyperbole? I think not. It’s that good.
522 Days — now, no longer consecutive days on this daybreak walk at Cove Island Park. 500+ days of moving through this remarkable pasture of mine, and not finding a single morning, or a single moment to stop and to sit.
But for today.
It was all too much. The weight just too heavy. An Oliver-Everett morning. Just too much to handle.
I placed the camera on the bench. Then I moved to unshackle the backpack, and set that down too.
I stared at the bench for a moment, taking a deep breath —
and Sat down.
Photo: DK @ Daybreak. 6:45 am, October 7, 2021. 57° F. Cove Island Park, Stamford, CT. (@dkct25 on Instagram)
Sometimes ya just have to stop and catch your breath, pal.
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Truth!
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finally! I’ve been waiting for this day for 522 days! I hope you sat for a while.
The picture reminds me of Purple Rain…
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Yes I did Jim. Thank you. And yes. I thought of Purple Rain too. What magic in that tune.
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👍
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How did it feel to stop and breathe? To acknowledge that such beauty can be too much for a brief pause, that words can accompany an image so perfectly that it is only right to give them their due.
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And I’m about a third of the way through…and it is that good.
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I’m 60% through and it has Classic written all over it.
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It felt like surrender and then peace. Quiet. Still. Peace.
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I’m so glad you set it all down at last.
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Thanks Beth.
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we are so small in this world
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We are all that Scott.
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Finally! I am every so happy that you were brought to your bum (brought to your knees just wasn’t appropriate, here) to stop and take it all in.
And I ordered the damn book 😉 It’s in my Kindle, up next after Crome Yellow (Also your fault through someone else in the comments.) I can’t keep up.
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Chrome Yellow. On my list now. Let me know if it’s worthy before I dive in.
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Crome, no ‘h’. It’s the name of a town in England. It was Aldous Huxley’s first book. So far, I am enjoying it. Though I got a tad confused in the beginning. You know when you read but you realise pages later that you didn’t pay attention? Went back and sorted myself out!
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Laughing. Been there many times.
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It’s good to sit a while and just take it all in. Good choice DK 💛
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That it is Val. Thank you.
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Omg you sat down!! 👏👏👏I’m so happy and proud of you. In these precious moments the whole world opens. Beautiful post 🧡🌿
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Smiling. Thank you Karen. Some of us are much slower to get it.
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Well I was the slowest. 🐢 It took me years to understand that stillness gave me peace. Never be hard on yourself. Just lead yourself into experiences that expand your energy each day. 🌿🌈
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Thank you Karen. You are a light.
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✨🙏🏻
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Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Sit down, take it all in. Enjoy the beauty of the moment … “I stared at the bench for a moment, taking a deep breath — and Sat down.”
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That bench just begged you to sit down. How could you refuse?
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Truth!
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So beautiful lovely tones David ~ have a joyful day ~ smiles hedy ☺️💫
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Thank you Hedy!
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I’ve definitely had those kinds of moments…the beauty so overpowering it becomes painful. You have to savor those moments when they do appear in your life.
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So well stated…Yes! Thank you.
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Glad you sat when you were moved to do so! It’s a strange time of year, meant for reflection more than at other times, methinks.
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Yes. Methinks you are right.
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;P)
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