Lightly Child, Lightly.

Posted on by Live & Learn

Tippett: And then you talk about growing up in a sad, depressed place, a difficult place. You don’t belabor this, I mean, and in other places — there’s a place you talk about you were one of many thousands who’ve had insufficient childhoods, but that you spent a lot of your time walking around the woods in Ohio.

Oliver: Yes, I did, and I think it saved my life. To this day, I don’t care for the enclosure of buildings. It was a very bad childhood — for everybody, every member of the household, not just myself, I think — and I escaped it, barely, with years of trouble. But I did find the entire world, in looking for something. But I got saved by poetry, and I got saved by the beauty of the world.

— Mary Oliver, from “I Got Saved by the Beauty of the World” in “On Being Interview with Krista Tippett” (Feb 15 2015)

Notes:

  1. Post Title & Inspiration: Aldous Huxley: “It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.
  2. Poem Source. Thank you Make Believe Boutique.

30 thoughts on “Lightly Child, Lightly.”

  1. “I got saved by the beauty of the world.”

    Everything I’ve been reading lately about health (both physical and mental) advises to “get outdoors with nature, and MOVE.” Not just move twice a week at the gym on the treadmill, but keep moving a great deal of the time. (As much as possible.) Our “Hunter/gatherer” ancestors had to move to survive…to find food, etc. According to the CDC, roughly 40% of Americans are obese right now. Not moving is killing us… literally… (mostly from heart problems, I believe, but have not researched that).

    I just devoured the book. “Not Too Late” by Gwendolyn Bounds. and have immediately started listening to it for a second time. This is a book you have mentioned in posts in the not too recent past. (a week or two).

    Only within the last 48 hours has the message: “we have to move” (a lot)… grabbed my attention in a serious way. Sitting behind desks looking at screens… Is killing us. (Or at least shortening our lives in a significant way.)

    (Slightly off-topic here, but it ties in with “the beauty of the world” saving this woman’s life.)

    1. Well… I just reviewed the blog (this blog) back about five weeks and I cannot find a mention of the book: “Not Too Late”. I don’t follow very many blogs, so if I didn’t find it here… Not sure where I found it. Apologies for that. I still believe this comment is accurate. (in my opinion).

      2. Caution: don’t purchase the book “Not Too Late” for tons of health information. This book is primarily the story of a sedentary woman in her 40s becoming a “superwoman” type athlete in incredibly difficult obstacle course competitions (think training for navy seals or army rangers). She discusses how she went from completely out of shape to being a super athlete beginning from about age 45. This is her story, with references to her health research. This is not a book primarily about health. It is a story about the possibility of becoming a super athlete, starting in your 40s or older.

        1. Paul, I‘m not THAT much of a natural sportstype but I‘ve been (this season) in our little lake 29 times since the weather has been good, swimming for 20-30‘ nonstop. Leisurely, on my own, far away from the humdrum of society, and it has done me a world of good. Afterwards I take a shower with a ‚good to eat‘ smelling showergel, get into fresh clothing and trundle home to start my day in serious! I feel not like a super woman (how do they feel?), I haven‘t lost a pound I think but my mind and body feel absolutely wonderful and nothing can faze me.

          1. Well done, Kiki!

            It is incredible how much better you feel if you do even moderate amounts of exercise. Yet so many of us (myself included) get lazy and don’t stick with it sometimes.

            Three things that help me with this:

            – Find an activity that you enjoy, and incorporate that into your exercise routine. If you don’t like the exercise, it is far harder to motivate yourself to do it consistently.

            – Most people have trouble with getting started (pushing yourself to “get up and begin”). For some people this happens every single time they exercise. But once you get started, you are reminded of how good it feels. It feels particularly good after you are done!

            – You really have to discipline yourself to “get up and do it” every single time… Even if you don’t feel like it. Sometimes you just have to be determined and push yourself a bit.

            (Now I need to take my own advice 🙂 )

          8. Paul, sorry to barge in again. I‘m all for ‚doing sporty things‘ but I am absolutely unable to do it on my own. I‘m a crowd pleaser and too lazy or not motivated to do anything sporty on my own. I go nordic walking every Tuesday with a varying group of ppl, I go to gym but only in a group, I do aquafit in another group (in winter). But I also love to be on my own, having time for my thoughts , for writing, for reading, for just standing in my kitchen and cook up a small feast. I play in an orchestra but hardly ever alone, at least I play with HH but that doesn‘t count as he ‚must‘ accompany me… I sing in choirs; at least once or more per week we have guest(s). Then I need ‚to rest‘ and just be with myself. I no longer have to push myself, I was pushed (around) for far too long.

    2. So much true in your thoughts here Paul. I got this message the hard way about a 1 year into working from home during COVID. Sitting, sitting, sitting. Had serious sciatica and lower back issues. I was determined to start moving and it has since abated. Critical issue for this country.

  3. I love Mary Oliver – and love her more knowing that she fell so in love with poetry that she shared that love with all of us.

    2. Mimi, so do I – and now that I‘ve seen her picture, I also think she‘s not only a ‚beautiful mind‘, a ‚sharp tool‘ but also a gorgeous woman. A win-win-win…

  7. Hi Kiki,
    First, please don’t ever feel like you are “barging in”. I think you have a very positive influence on the discussions here. Thanks for that!

    And don’t be hard on yourself about the exercise thing. We are all unique and have unique goals/needs. You ARE getting some exercise on a regular basis. So you are already ahead of the 40% of Americans who are obese. You are also ahead of me 🙂 I fell off the exercise bandwagon a long time ago because I had higher priority things to cope with. I am only now starting to push myself to get back “into the game”.

    What really stands out to me in your comment is that you seem to have a good circle of friends that you can do activities with if and when you choose to. This is REALLY important. Possibly just as important as exercise. Since the pandemic, people were forced to stay apart (and we still have to be careful. There’s a new “flavor” of the Covid vaccine being released right now… As you probably know). The pandemic has created a “loneliness crisis” which I’m sure you have also heard about. My circle of friends is way too small, which is one of the reasons I am so grateful for this blog! Many studies are now coming out, revealing how important it is for people to have “social interaction and social support”. This is a hot topic in many recent “self-help books”. It sounds like you are pretty well positioned to get the social interaction that you need, and there’s nothing wrong with leaning towards preferring to be by yourself!

    So I guess my overall reply to your comment is to be gentle with yourself! Give yourself credit for all the things that you ARE doing! You are certainly doing more than I am at the moment. I am currently looking for ways to improve my exercise routine, and also looking for ways to expand my social circle.

    We all have different ways of keeping ourselves happy and healthy. I’m not sure I see the benefit of exercising like crazy if there are other parts of our lives that are more important for supporting our overall happiness. Personally, I don’t see a huge benefit in exercising to extend my life if I am miserable. For me, quality of life is more important than quantity.

    I personally believe mental health is just as important as physical health. Possibly even more so. We all have to try to create a balance of activities that support an overall good quality of life. For me personally, that’s more important than being a miserable marathon runner! Lol.

    So take care of yourself in whatever way works best for you Kiki, and be gentle with yourself! Blessings – Paul.

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