OK, so I did not seriously chill as I mentioned yesterday. Quite the opposite, in fact. I got up early this morning to work, enjoyed espresso, then had a verifiable meltdown and claimed "a mental health day for the good of all things/people I know." I was serious. I can't go into much detail, but let's just say that I'm a sensitive gal. Things get to me easily sometimes. Too easily, I believe. I'm working on it.
Here was my remedy:
1. I talked with a few good souls on the phone, one being my Mom.
2. I prayed and read the Psalms.
3. I listened to the epic forthcoming Derek Webb record, Feedback, which was oh so helpful to my psyche. (I have an advance copy for writing purposes. Don't you dare miss it on November 2nd.)
4. I watched half of an abstract documentary about Arcade Fire called Miroir Noir. Sooo good so far.
5. I ate a chicken quesadilla and drank white wine for lunch. Yep.
6. I curled up with Harley, Lily, and a soft blanket and read a bit of Jayber Crow.
7. I Googled the following poem at the recommendation of my friend, Laura Brown:
Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
I love that poem for many reasons, including all the wild geese we see in flight on our walks around the 'hood lately.
Now? Dancing with the Stars, Caprica, angel hair pasta, a strong White Russian, and an early bedtime — I gotta rise early to write an article due on Thursday. I will not worry about tomorrow.
6 comments:
hope you get lots of rest. sweet dreams, my friend. i really lover her poetry.
Good regimen, friend. And thanks so much for sharing the poem with us. Here's to a grand stupor of sleep for you, and a refreshing rising, raring to go.
Love this. Sounds like the perfect mental health day. And I love Mary Oliver.
I'm impressed. You know how to soothe yourself. Mom, white wine with lunch, Wendell Berry, Mary Oliver. Nice day.
We all need mental health days. I think your antidotes are good ones & love that prayer, poetry, some people who love you & even some pasta get thrown into that mix. Thanks for sharing the MO poem- it's a beauty.
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