Oh gosh Chloe this is just so good. Every word. Reading your writing is like coming home.
It is good to be amongst company who also talk to birds. I have wondered if I was mad at times. But then I reassure myself that I think it is madness to miss all the wonder that surrounds us, if we only just pause to notice.
I chat every day to the birds. When I am out running little fantails dart in and out alongside me, the tui calls out with her beautiful song as I pass by. It would be rude not to reply. Yesterday a quail with about 8 little "quailings" wandered across my path. "Hello" I said! "Good job mum!! " I encouraged. Sometimes birds make more sense than humans.
Everything is here in your writing - the snail, your friend you wanted to buy the Bowie print for. You gently but profoundly dip in and out of your day just like a little fantail. Touching on things, and then moving on.
Just beautiful. Sorry for the long reply. Could have probably gone on longer but didn't want to be too much of a bore... Thank you. Jo ððŠķ
Jo, don't you dare apologise, I'm so grateful for your sharing. I hold back a little, here, about just how much I talk to Birds. If I'm honest it's pretty much non-stop--so I'm always pleased to know of kindred spirits, as yes, Birds consistently make much more sense than humans ðAnd, quailings! What a treat! Hi, little ones!
Thank you, again, Jo. So happy to have you here ð
I love how you give Birds a capital letter. They deserve it. ð
ps Do you know about the Grebe? If you have a chance look up what Wanaka has done to protect this wonderful bird. And then look at how it has recently become rather famous thanks to John Oliver. Love this so much. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVE1hBzHn3s
Wow, thank you for this--what a Bird! And what a campaign! Bless John Oliver. Also, extra special thanks because I looked at Grebes on google image and saw the babies!!! ðĨđ
"The barometric pressure of the exquisite potentiality held within every single moment of existenceâand the responsibility which that impliesâcould easily crush us". Wonderful writing, Chloe. Such a great post. And I loved David's comment in the cathedral.
I listened to you read your words, a first for me, the listening bit, and I was transported. Just brilliant, and thank you for this, and all that you do
This made me gasp for the beauty of your thoughts and words. Thank you! And it reminds me of a favorite snippet from a Rumi poem (I don't know the name of the translator, I'm sorry):
Very sorry to barge In uninvited. Your comment about who translated the Rumi passages suggested Coleman Barks. Former professor of English and perhaps Creative Writing at University of Georgia, here in the US. Near the end of his career he undertook traveling performances of Rumiâs works. Complete with whirling dervishes, percussionists, flautists, and a tympanist. I had the joy to see one of those performances in my hometown.
A favorite line of his writing: âSomewhere out beyond wrong doing and right doing, there is a field. Iâll meet you there.â
Beth and I purchased his latest publication The Illuminated Rumi, which Coleman autographed. âFor Beth and Gary and Marriage!â I just now got the book from our library shelves. Guess what?! The page he autographed and several others feature Birds.
Oh, what a wonderful story, and thank you for pointing me toward Coleman Barks. His name is familiar, probably from the performances. How great that you got to see one! And that you have a signed copy of his book on your shelves. I'll put The Illuminated Rumi on my list of resources for my Year of Spiritual Thinking project.
One performer was a member of Oregon (I think) and played a tambourine. To call what he did with the instrument âplayingâ is a gross understatement. He struck with very high frequency and moved the instrument and his hands so fluidly it all seemed a magical blur. Such memories grow deeper roots with time.
Chloe, this was so beautiful! My inner archaeologist also had a good chuckle at what David said in the cathedral about the bones
I loved what you said about how being with the birds made you feel like you were homeðWhen I was growing up, there was a hawk that sat on a fence on a small city airfield, watching the cars go by. I silently named him/her Horus, and sometimes when I was outside playing or walking, I would look up and see a hawk (sometime multiple) flying overhead. Reading your post made me think of that bird, and how I somehow felt a sense of safeness when seeing him/her.
Merry Biscuits! My boyfriend/partner also call each other endearing nicknames-some that are baked goods. Sometimes we also call each other nicknames associated with a certain birdy PokÃĐmon named Pidgeyð (The irony being that Iâm not big on nicknames, but being with him has softened me a bit to them, haha)
I was sipping the first tea of the day and gulping the freshness of the air (a favourite habit, as it starts getting light). A cawing crow invited me to look up (I'm always looking up, anyway - and down, because that's interesting too) and I watched them gathering. Right above me.
A murder of maybe 50+, wheeling around together. I hoped they were looking at me and remembering my stupid sleepy gaze.
Then they started up. A real shouty racket. And, as one, they set off together in a vaguely easterly direction.
They roost, of an evening, on the edge of the woods just west of mine. So I saw them 10 hours later, being all shouty again as I walked by the beeches, oaks and (surviving) ash they presumably call home.
Have you tried resting your forehead on an old tree and feeling what comes back? I recommend this as a daily practice. If you occasionally feel the boundary between yours and the tree's energy dissolve, that's a result.
Ooh, a gathering murder, my absolute favourite! That shouty noise when thereâs a large group of them always feels to me as though a spell is being cast. How wonderful for their home to be so close to yours.
Iâm most grateful for your daily practice recommendation. As soon as I read it my body let me know that thatâs absolutely something I should be doing with regularity. Thank you, Mike. Wishing you and yours a very merry Biscuit ð
I visit a tree regularly & I have hugged, patted & rested my back on her, but I will try as you suggest in a while when I head out for the day. Thank you for that~
I think, intentionally, of it as a giving or sending by me. Kind of like transmitting to all the trees, via the root complex that communicates through the forest floor. Sometimes you'll feel a returning. The best times are when you feel a sameness (rare, at least for me, like the ego dissolving in meditation). Fun, though.
This beauteous, breathgiving essay gives me all the Biscuit feels. May you have a wonderful Christmas and New Years. May 2024 grace you with more aliveness and abundance. I adore you! <3
Oooooohhhhh!!! What a glorious, heartfelt way to start my day!! So many gentle sensations, but an overwhelming sense of peace. Thankfully. Dear Daniel, now passed. Sigh. It takes many, many years to overcome that sensation of wanting to gift someone with something âjust rightâ only to remember that âthey would no longer have use for itâ. In fact, we probably never move past it, but then why should we? As you reminded us so eloquently earlier in this piece, even a thousand years after death, there is still some degree of comfort to be found in their presence... Sigh...
I was thinking we wouldnât hear from you again this year, that you were having a break. So this was an unexpected delight. Thank you so much dear Chloe. This truly feels like a special gift and is very much appreciated. I will have a listen to it/you later when I donât have a snoozing puppy dog beside me. Sheâs an old girl. Her Mum finally gets home on Saturday after a month overseas and sheâs been missing her dreadfully so I want to let her sleep as long as I can. But I will listen, later, and share this time with you again from across the world. Thanks SO much.
Merry Christmas my dear. To you and your dear fellow. All the best for the year ahead. ðĪðĪðððĨ°ðĨ°
Dearest Beth, what a gift you are, Iâm so grateful to have your eyes (and later, ears) on this. Thank you. Iâm heartened to know that it brought you peace. Bless your sweet puppy friend, I hope sheâs enjoying her snooze, and I hope that her reunion with her Mama on Saturday is blissful. Bless you for taking such sweet care of her, sheâs a lucky girl.
Me and my dear fellow both send you our very best Christmas wishes, we hope the season is sweet and peaceful for you. Big hugs, Beth ððĪððĨ°ðâĻ
Hola , Siempre Es Un Placer Leer Estos Hermosos Relatos , Transmiten Paz , Belleza Y Sobre Todo Esperanza. Me Encanto EstÃĄ Estrofa: Ãste Acto De Silbar A Las CrÃas, Un Intento Torpe Pero Efectivo De Hablar Su Idioma , ProvocÃģ Una AgitaciÃģn En MÃ Que Inicialmente No Pude Etiquetar. Un Saludo.
This one took my breath away. I love your writing Chloe... and I love feeling Davidâs presence in your writing too. Thank you for sharing this with us all. Itâs truly a pleasure to read.
Hi Chloe - I hope you had a very merry holiday. As usual, your words find me at the perfect moment. I was thinking of you today, while on my walk on the River Po. I was trying to befriend a particular crow - who was very handsome - with some biscuits that I pocketed for the very purpose of sharing with bird friends on my walk. Unfortunately, just as he was getting close to hopping to me, after several offerings from me, a biker road by, very fast and noisy and my handsome crow took off, squawking. I didn't blame him. A few minutes later I was waiting at the crosswalk and a crow landed on the streetlamp and started cawing - was this my friend? I was out of biscuits. When I returned to my apartment I pulled an animal spirt card from the Wild Unknown deck (that always travels with me) and it was the crow. Crow magic is strong. Then I remembered I had been saving your email post and sat down to read it. Just wonderful and lovely. A happy Boxing Day by all accounts.
Hi Michele, thank you so much for sharing. I love to hear how the befriending is progressing! These things seem to take many small, and often interrupted, interactions. Youâre doing great by the sound of things. I love the Wild Unknown deck, she sits on my desk as I type. âSpiritually strong. Creative. Watchfulâ now thatâs a magical card ðŠķ Wishing you and your Crow kin a beautiful end to the year, friend âĪïļ
This was such a beautiful surprise to my day. Thank you for sharing your words and heart with us, Chloe. Your voice is so soothing and I think I could listen to you speak to me forever! Your words transported me, and I felt like I was walking beside you the whole way. The snail bit felt close to home, as I always take a moment to apologise and acknowledge what has happened when I feel that sinking feeling after stepping on one by accident. Much love to you!
Kaitlyn, thank you! Thank you for taking the time to listen, and to join me as I walked. Bless you for the acknowledgement and apology that you offer our bug friends, being human seems to involve an inherent clumsiness... best we speak honestly to it. Sending you much love. Thank you for taking the time to write âĪïļ
Oh gosh Chloe this is just so good. Every word. Reading your writing is like coming home.
It is good to be amongst company who also talk to birds. I have wondered if I was mad at times. But then I reassure myself that I think it is madness to miss all the wonder that surrounds us, if we only just pause to notice.
I chat every day to the birds. When I am out running little fantails dart in and out alongside me, the tui calls out with her beautiful song as I pass by. It would be rude not to reply. Yesterday a quail with about 8 little "quailings" wandered across my path. "Hello" I said! "Good job mum!! " I encouraged. Sometimes birds make more sense than humans.
Everything is here in your writing - the snail, your friend you wanted to buy the Bowie print for. You gently but profoundly dip in and out of your day just like a little fantail. Touching on things, and then moving on.
Just beautiful. Sorry for the long reply. Could have probably gone on longer but didn't want to be too much of a bore... Thank you. Jo ððŠķ
Jo, don't you dare apologise, I'm so grateful for your sharing. I hold back a little, here, about just how much I talk to Birds. If I'm honest it's pretty much non-stop--so I'm always pleased to know of kindred spirits, as yes, Birds consistently make much more sense than humans ðAnd, quailings! What a treat! Hi, little ones!
Thank you, again, Jo. So happy to have you here ð
I love how you give Birds a capital letter. They deserve it. ð
ps Do you know about the Grebe? If you have a chance look up what Wanaka has done to protect this wonderful bird. And then look at how it has recently become rather famous thanks to John Oliver. Love this so much. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVE1hBzHn3s
Wow, thank you for this--what a Bird! And what a campaign! Bless John Oliver. Also, extra special thanks because I looked at Grebes on google image and saw the babies!!! ðĨđ
ðĨ°
"The barometric pressure of the exquisite potentiality held within every single moment of existenceâand the responsibility which that impliesâcould easily crush us". Wonderful writing, Chloe. Such a great post. And I loved David's comment in the cathedral.
Thanks ever so much, Jeffrey. Davidâs a rogueâĶ
âWonderfulâ is the word that jumped to my mind, too. So many chances to feel the aliveness around us.
I am in awe of the way you see, write, live, speak and thankful you share your world with us all. And I love that your nickname is Biscuit ð
Mya, you are most generous. I appreciate you, and your kindness, greatly ð Love, Biscuit ðŠ
Thank you, Biscuit, that is simply and utterly cute!ð
I listened to you read your words, a first for me, the listening bit, and I was transported. Just brilliant, and thank you for this, and all that you do
Thank you so much for listening, Shannon, and for being here--happy to have transported!
This made me gasp for the beauty of your thoughts and words. Thank you! And it reminds me of a favorite snippet from a Rumi poem (I don't know the name of the translator, I'm sorry):
"At night, I open the window
and ask the moon to come
and press its face against mine.
Breathe into me.
"Close the language-door and
open the love-window.
The moon won't use the door,
only the window."
--Rumi
Susan, thank you! Closing the language-door seems like best practice at times. I'm most grateful to you (and Rumi!) for that phrase ð
That phrase stops me every time, and makes me draw a deep breath and close my mouth. The language-door is so necessary and also can be so fraught.
Very sorry to barge In uninvited. Your comment about who translated the Rumi passages suggested Coleman Barks. Former professor of English and perhaps Creative Writing at University of Georgia, here in the US. Near the end of his career he undertook traveling performances of Rumiâs works. Complete with whirling dervishes, percussionists, flautists, and a tympanist. I had the joy to see one of those performances in my hometown.
A favorite line of his writing: âSomewhere out beyond wrong doing and right doing, there is a field. Iâll meet you there.â
Beth and I purchased his latest publication The Illuminated Rumi, which Coleman autographed. âFor Beth and Gary and Marriage!â I just now got the book from our library shelves. Guess what?! The page he autographed and several others feature Birds.
Iâll be sure to tell Chloe of the birds.
Oh, what a wonderful story, and thank you for pointing me toward Coleman Barks. His name is familiar, probably from the performances. How great that you got to see one! And that you have a signed copy of his book on your shelves. I'll put The Illuminated Rumi on my list of resources for my Year of Spiritual Thinking project.
One performer was a member of Oregon (I think) and played a tambourine. To call what he did with the instrument âplayingâ is a gross understatement. He struck with very high frequency and moved the instrument and his hands so fluidly it all seemed a magical blur. Such memories grow deeper roots with time.
That would make an amazing video, though I'm sure nothing compares to seeing that kind of artistry in person!
âBirds, mushrooms and Dolly Partonâ - ðlove your ornament collection Chloe! ðïļððš
Thanks, Sabrina! It's eclectic..! ððŋïļð
Chloe, this was so beautiful! My inner archaeologist also had a good chuckle at what David said in the cathedral about the bones
I loved what you said about how being with the birds made you feel like you were homeðWhen I was growing up, there was a hawk that sat on a fence on a small city airfield, watching the cars go by. I silently named him/her Horus, and sometimes when I was outside playing or walking, I would look up and see a hawk (sometime multiple) flying overhead. Reading your post made me think of that bird, and how I somehow felt a sense of safeness when seeing him/her.
Merry Biscuits! My boyfriend/partner also call each other endearing nicknames-some that are baked goods. Sometimes we also call each other nicknames associated with a certain birdy PokÃĐmon named Pidgeyð (The irony being that Iâm not big on nicknames, but being with him has softened me a bit to them, haha)
Kimber, thank you, love. Itâs so sweet how we can form these wordless friendships with feathered kin, even at a distance.
Love a baked good nickname! Wishing you and all your beings a very Merry Biscuit! Xx
The other morning I thought of D&B.
I was sipping the first tea of the day and gulping the freshness of the air (a favourite habit, as it starts getting light). A cawing crow invited me to look up (I'm always looking up, anyway - and down, because that's interesting too) and I watched them gathering. Right above me.
A murder of maybe 50+, wheeling around together. I hoped they were looking at me and remembering my stupid sleepy gaze.
Then they started up. A real shouty racket. And, as one, they set off together in a vaguely easterly direction.
They roost, of an evening, on the edge of the woods just west of mine. So I saw them 10 hours later, being all shouty again as I walked by the beeches, oaks and (surviving) ash they presumably call home.
Have you tried resting your forehead on an old tree and feeling what comes back? I recommend this as a daily practice. If you occasionally feel the boundary between yours and the tree's energy dissolve, that's a result.
Happy Biscuit to you and your readers.
Ooh, a gathering murder, my absolute favourite! That shouty noise when thereâs a large group of them always feels to me as though a spell is being cast. How wonderful for their home to be so close to yours.
Iâm most grateful for your daily practice recommendation. As soon as I read it my body let me know that thatâs absolutely something I should be doing with regularity. Thank you, Mike. Wishing you and yours a very merry Biscuit ð
I visit a tree regularly & I have hugged, patted & rested my back on her, but I will try as you suggest in a while when I head out for the day. Thank you for that~
I think, intentionally, of it as a giving or sending by me. Kind of like transmitting to all the trees, via the root complex that communicates through the forest floor. Sometimes you'll feel a returning. The best times are when you feel a sameness (rare, at least for me, like the ego dissolving in meditation). Fun, though.
It is the unabashed love that occasionally, without warning
comes bursting out from your heart in the form of compassion .
It feels palpable , and Iâm sure takes a while to carefully gather all the edges , gently tucking them all back in
until the next time.
If I can feel it in your words, Iâm sure your David would agree.
I wish you love and joy however you choose to celebrate the coming season.
Lor, you are so very kind. David and I both wish you a joyful and love filled festive period. Thank you for the thoughtfulness you bring here ð
This beauteous, breathgiving essay gives me all the Biscuit feels. May you have a wonderful Christmas and New Years. May 2024 grace you with more aliveness and abundance. I adore you! <3
The Biscuit feels!! ðĨ° Oh, I couldn't love you more. Wishing you so much love and life and breath and beauty, sweet friend ð
ðĨ°ðð
Oooooohhhhh!!! What a glorious, heartfelt way to start my day!! So many gentle sensations, but an overwhelming sense of peace. Thankfully. Dear Daniel, now passed. Sigh. It takes many, many years to overcome that sensation of wanting to gift someone with something âjust rightâ only to remember that âthey would no longer have use for itâ. In fact, we probably never move past it, but then why should we? As you reminded us so eloquently earlier in this piece, even a thousand years after death, there is still some degree of comfort to be found in their presence... Sigh...
I was thinking we wouldnât hear from you again this year, that you were having a break. So this was an unexpected delight. Thank you so much dear Chloe. This truly feels like a special gift and is very much appreciated. I will have a listen to it/you later when I donât have a snoozing puppy dog beside me. Sheâs an old girl. Her Mum finally gets home on Saturday after a month overseas and sheâs been missing her dreadfully so I want to let her sleep as long as I can. But I will listen, later, and share this time with you again from across the world. Thanks SO much.
Merry Christmas my dear. To you and your dear fellow. All the best for the year ahead. ðĪðĪðððĨ°ðĨ°
Dearest Beth, what a gift you are, Iâm so grateful to have your eyes (and later, ears) on this. Thank you. Iâm heartened to know that it brought you peace. Bless your sweet puppy friend, I hope sheâs enjoying her snooze, and I hope that her reunion with her Mama on Saturday is blissful. Bless you for taking such sweet care of her, sheâs a lucky girl.
Me and my dear fellow both send you our very best Christmas wishes, we hope the season is sweet and peaceful for you. Big hugs, Beth ððĪððĨ°ðâĻ
Hola , Siempre Es Un Placer Leer Estos Hermosos Relatos , Transmiten Paz , Belleza Y Sobre Todo Esperanza. Me Encanto EstÃĄ Estrofa: Ãste Acto De Silbar A Las CrÃas, Un Intento Torpe Pero Efectivo De Hablar Su Idioma , ProvocÃģ Una AgitaciÃģn En MÃ Que Inicialmente No Pude Etiquetar. Un Saludo.
Paz, belleza, amor y esperanza, mis cosas favoritas! Te agradezco que leas y te tomes el tiempo de comentar.
This one took my breath away. I love your writing Chloe... and I love feeling Davidâs presence in your writing too. Thank you for sharing this with us all. Itâs truly a pleasure to read.
Thank you so much for reading it, my love âĪïļ
Hi Chloe - I hope you had a very merry holiday. As usual, your words find me at the perfect moment. I was thinking of you today, while on my walk on the River Po. I was trying to befriend a particular crow - who was very handsome - with some biscuits that I pocketed for the very purpose of sharing with bird friends on my walk. Unfortunately, just as he was getting close to hopping to me, after several offerings from me, a biker road by, very fast and noisy and my handsome crow took off, squawking. I didn't blame him. A few minutes later I was waiting at the crosswalk and a crow landed on the streetlamp and started cawing - was this my friend? I was out of biscuits. When I returned to my apartment I pulled an animal spirt card from the Wild Unknown deck (that always travels with me) and it was the crow. Crow magic is strong. Then I remembered I had been saving your email post and sat down to read it. Just wonderful and lovely. A happy Boxing Day by all accounts.
Thank you. Wishing you a joyous day and week.
Hi Michele, thank you so much for sharing. I love to hear how the befriending is progressing! These things seem to take many small, and often interrupted, interactions. Youâre doing great by the sound of things. I love the Wild Unknown deck, she sits on my desk as I type. âSpiritually strong. Creative. Watchfulâ now thatâs a magical card ðŠķ Wishing you and your Crow kin a beautiful end to the year, friend âĪïļ
I love that we share the Wild Unknown deck among many other things. Auguri!!
such a lovely listen & learn, Chloe
ð
ððð
This was such a beautiful surprise to my day. Thank you for sharing your words and heart with us, Chloe. Your voice is so soothing and I think I could listen to you speak to me forever! Your words transported me, and I felt like I was walking beside you the whole way. The snail bit felt close to home, as I always take a moment to apologise and acknowledge what has happened when I feel that sinking feeling after stepping on one by accident. Much love to you!
Kaitlyn, thank you! Thank you for taking the time to listen, and to join me as I walked. Bless you for the acknowledgement and apology that you offer our bug friends, being human seems to involve an inherent clumsiness... best we speak honestly to it. Sending you much love. Thank you for taking the time to write âĪïļ