So beautiful. A friend recommended your substack to me this morning and it's like finding a sister-self. In your words I can see my own, and my sentiment and emotion. What a blessing. So glad to have found your writing
We're all like birds too landing to feed on this essay. I'm grateful for this feed, and how it reminds of our magical inseparability from nature. One moment a tree, and the next a crying cloud! Thank you for the words.
I think that Spiders DO worry. I accidentally knocked a regular visitor off a curtain and he disappeared for a few days, apparently worried that I’d had enough of him! But he did return. Thankfully.
I wish I could help with your headaches. Migraines? Back or neck issues? Poor love. Debilitating things. Sigh...
And thank goodness for birds and trees and nature reminding us that we are only a small part of the puzzle, but that what we feel matters.
Take care dear Chloe. Sending heaps of warm, soothing thoughts from Down Under. (where winters tend to be delightfully (comparatively) mild and short.)
Oh Beth, I’m glad you said that. Spartacus does give off a worried vibe sometimes, but I don’t want to project my worries on to him! I’m glad to hear your visitor returned. The migraines are new-ish, I’m still trying to figure out the cause, but as I type I can feel one simmering and I’m noticing how much I’m bracing my shoulders in response, which can’t be helping. Oh, bodies!
Thank goodness indeed for the abundance of life and beauty that’s right there. How lucky we are. Your thoughts are so gratefully received, Beth. Thank you.
It's bitter cold here in Atlanta too, 19º F though we do have glorious sunshine which offers that same uncomfortable paradox you so beautifully illustrate in this week's piece. To be in the present is to accept and hold the cross current of feeling that's running through us.
I love the connection you draw between yourself and trees as benevolent perches for birds. It is a nourishing feeling to give comfort, rest or shelter to another creature. Thank you so much for, once again, making my Sunday morning complete. I loved this one so much.
The cross current of feeling, yes! So beautifully put, Ben, thank you. And yes, shelter and / or comfort to another being, what a gift. I’m so glad to have spent a little time with you on your Sunday. Stay warm, my friend.
I am sending you a multi-faceted first-aid kit with an ice pack, hot water bottle-just because it works for most things-, dark chocolate, kitten hugs-because mine uses your heart as a pillow and gazes adoringly back at you and in the abundance of her love I can almost forget physical pain- and it might just work for you too.💜
Also, she doesn't know it yet but she will never catch a bird nor a butterfly, nor any of the field mice...I hope!
They do, sometimes! Long-tailed tits are especially friendly, they’re naturally incredibly sociable birds so when they come in young they’re always very pleased to see you and want to hang out. Young Swallows, too, will come and perch wherever is convenient for them--hands, head, shoulders. Each individual bird then has its own personality and some are just more inquisitive, and bold. Typically, by the time the babies are nearing their release dates they’re like wild birds and they don’t want to be anywhere near you, which is perfect. The only exception there is our Long-tailed tit friends, who sometimes need persuading to leave...
I usually read your lovely essays but today, while cross-legged on the sofa with my long tom Otis curled into a tight ball on my lap and gray jays flitted outside my window with the thawing day, I listened to you. And I felt like Otis and I became your perch, your gentle wisdom landing and inviting presence. And then more presence. And then more. ❤️
Oh, so much presence! Thank you for sharing that visual of you and your dear beings and your thaw. I love the idea of us being able to sit together and be peaceful. ❤️
"like" doesn't quite cover it. Thanks to you and the little fledglings, settling like poems.or snow. It feels.like the breath of something beautiful, like cool clean air on an autumn morning, or just after a storm.
"The present, it turns out, is a timeless place. There is only it. Nothing to regret, nothing to forebode. Just you, a bird, and the endless now." So true and something I try to keep in mind on my walks in Nature. We have had such cold weather lately, but still the Black-capped Chickadees are out greeting my on the trails.
What a delightful account of your being. From a place of openness, caring, and oneness with our shared Now. Your remarks about the spider brought to mind an account of a woman in Missouri (?) who was pained to see her two horses out in the snow and cold. She took action and brought them both into her home. Impractical? Ask the horses. Thank you so much for yet another prompt to be present.
"I wondered whether this is how trees feel. God, I hope that this is how trees feel."
This brought such a smile, Chloe. I hope that is indeed how they feel. They are the masters of the still, the present, and the now.
I'm sorry your winter is so everlasting. Spring is coming, I assure you. I have seen the future, and it is filled with spring. I hope there is some solace in the fact the days are at least lengthening, even if minutely. Sorry also to hear of the headaches. May they abate with haste! Know that your words bring comfort and warmth.
I thought of you last week because I was having lunch outside my building at work and two large birds came hopping over to me, all inquisitive. I gave them a nod, taking a moment to wonder upon what they were wondering. At first I thought they were crows, but then I questioned whether they were ravens, and then I realised I wasn't 100% sure whether we had crows, so I checked, and what do you know, it was a "little" (massive) raven.
This is obviously incredibly off-topic, but this snippet of info also made me smile, so I thought I'd share it:
"If you live in a capital city, it’s very basic because every capital city only has one species. So if you are in Perth, Canberra, or Sydney, chances are you are seeing an Australian raven. If you are in Melbourne and Adelaide, it’s a Little Raven, and a Little Raven is basically only one centimeter shorter than an Australian Raven. So don’t worry and get hung up about the little term. They look basically the same size. If you’re in Hobart, it’s a Forest Raven, and if you’re in Darwin or Brisbane, it is a Torresian Crow."
If I ever get around to writing a book about Death & Birds I'm going to call it Masters of the Still--and I will credit you, but only in very small writing ;)
I genuinely appreciate the reassurance re Spring (especially a future FILLED with Spring, yes please).
I've just been looking at pictures of your little-massive Ravens, and yes--suspiciously similar looking to the Australian Raven! Very sweet that you guys get to enjoy the pocket-sized version 😂 If they hopped over to you in the way that our Crows hop over to us here, then they're a bit reminiscent of dogs, as there's a little sense of excitement in there, I feel!
Oh, Chloe. This is one of my favorite of yours, and that’s saying a lot. It is, indeed, so easy to be consumed by pain.
I have a brown marmalated stink bug living with me. He has long antennae and likes to walk circles around the lamp shade near my work station. Occasionally, something sends him a fluttering, and he’ll buzz up toward the overhead light, wings seeming to flail. I tell him that everything’s all right. But like you with Spartacus, I doubt it’s really worry that causes this sudden occasional upstart.
Oh, Holly, thank you. That's lovely to hear. And so nice to hear about your bug friend, traversing your work station, doing his thing. We're so lucky to share our spaces with other beings, and to be able to offer some words of comfort here and there--whether needed or not!
I've been undertaking a practice I've nicknamed "the threshold"...neither wallow-walking backward into the past or springing with fright into the future. I grasped for the threshold's uncomfortable and odd stability for similar reasons the tree root helped you upend. I can only state at this point that it is a practice and I am curious to see if it changes a few things...even at this elder stage in my life experience. Thank you for your beautiful wordings. I find them comforting.
What a wonderful practice! Thank you so much for sharing it. It sounds like something we could all benefit from leaning in to... I’m happy to hear you’ve found some comfort here, eMMe
"Good or bad, loved or feared, nothing lasts forever." The ultimate lesson in detachment, dear Chloe. We all need reminding to not get attached to our pain -- or to our joy. It is ALL transient. I understood and loved the two words you tucked in here regarding how we cope In the face of losing someone we love, we "clean, maniacally." That would be my answer for just about everything. This was such a lovely piece. Thank you.
So beautiful. A friend recommended your substack to me this morning and it's like finding a sister-self. In your words I can see my own, and my sentiment and emotion. What a blessing. So glad to have found your writing
Ruth, welcome, sister. So grateful to have you here, and excited to get to know you more through your writing.
Thank you so much Chloe, what a beautiful welcome :)
We're all like birds too landing to feed on this essay. I'm grateful for this feed, and how it reminds of our magical inseparability from nature. One moment a tree, and the next a crying cloud! Thank you for the words.
So happy and honoured to have you feeding on it, Rufus. May you be full to bursting with your magical inseparability!
I think that Spiders DO worry. I accidentally knocked a regular visitor off a curtain and he disappeared for a few days, apparently worried that I’d had enough of him! But he did return. Thankfully.
I wish I could help with your headaches. Migraines? Back or neck issues? Poor love. Debilitating things. Sigh...
And thank goodness for birds and trees and nature reminding us that we are only a small part of the puzzle, but that what we feel matters.
Take care dear Chloe. Sending heaps of warm, soothing thoughts from Down Under. (where winters tend to be delightfully (comparatively) mild and short.)
Oh Beth, I’m glad you said that. Spartacus does give off a worried vibe sometimes, but I don’t want to project my worries on to him! I’m glad to hear your visitor returned. The migraines are new-ish, I’m still trying to figure out the cause, but as I type I can feel one simmering and I’m noticing how much I’m bracing my shoulders in response, which can’t be helping. Oh, bodies!
Thank goodness indeed for the abundance of life and beauty that’s right there. How lucky we are. Your thoughts are so gratefully received, Beth. Thank you.
It's bitter cold here in Atlanta too, 19º F though we do have glorious sunshine which offers that same uncomfortable paradox you so beautifully illustrate in this week's piece. To be in the present is to accept and hold the cross current of feeling that's running through us.
I love the connection you draw between yourself and trees as benevolent perches for birds. It is a nourishing feeling to give comfort, rest or shelter to another creature. Thank you so much for, once again, making my Sunday morning complete. I loved this one so much.
The cross current of feeling, yes! So beautifully put, Ben, thank you. And yes, shelter and / or comfort to another being, what a gift. I’m so glad to have spent a little time with you on your Sunday. Stay warm, my friend.
I am sending you a multi-faceted first-aid kit with an ice pack, hot water bottle-just because it works for most things-, dark chocolate, kitten hugs-because mine uses your heart as a pillow and gazes adoringly back at you and in the abundance of her love I can almost forget physical pain- and it might just work for you too.💜
Also, she doesn't know it yet but she will never catch a bird nor a butterfly, nor any of the field mice...I hope!
Mya, that is a truly exceptional first-aid kit and I can feel some ease just from imagining it. Bless your kitten, what a perfect spot to curl up 💗
The birds land on you? Is that special to these birds or is it you, in particular, whom they adore?
They do, sometimes! Long-tailed tits are especially friendly, they’re naturally incredibly sociable birds so when they come in young they’re always very pleased to see you and want to hang out. Young Swallows, too, will come and perch wherever is convenient for them--hands, head, shoulders. Each individual bird then has its own personality and some are just more inquisitive, and bold. Typically, by the time the babies are nearing their release dates they’re like wild birds and they don’t want to be anywhere near you, which is perfect. The only exception there is our Long-tailed tit friends, who sometimes need persuading to leave...
So they become teenagers and want to get outta there!
That is exactly what they do
I am also quite curious about this! 🕊️
Me too! Sounds magical.
I usually read your lovely essays but today, while cross-legged on the sofa with my long tom Otis curled into a tight ball on my lap and gray jays flitted outside my window with the thawing day, I listened to you. And I felt like Otis and I became your perch, your gentle wisdom landing and inviting presence. And then more presence. And then more. ❤️
Oh, so much presence! Thank you for sharing that visual of you and your dear beings and your thaw. I love the idea of us being able to sit together and be peaceful. ❤️
"like" doesn't quite cover it. Thanks to you and the little fledglings, settling like poems.or snow. It feels.like the breath of something beautiful, like cool clean air on an autumn morning, or just after a storm.
That’s exactly the feeling, Peter. Thank you so much for reading.
"The present, it turns out, is a timeless place. There is only it. Nothing to regret, nothing to forebode. Just you, a bird, and the endless now." So true and something I try to keep in mind on my walks in Nature. We have had such cold weather lately, but still the Black-capped Chickadees are out greeting my on the trails.
Oh, to be greeted by a Black-capped Chickadee! You’re a lucky man, Neil.
What a delightful account of your being. From a place of openness, caring, and oneness with our shared Now. Your remarks about the spider brought to mind an account of a woman in Missouri (?) who was pained to see her two horses out in the snow and cold. She took action and brought them both into her home. Impractical? Ask the horses. Thank you so much for yet another prompt to be present.
What a beautiful story, and sentiment. Thank you for sharing it, Gary. We belong to each other, all of us.
"I wondered whether this is how trees feel. God, I hope that this is how trees feel."
This brought such a smile, Chloe. I hope that is indeed how they feel. They are the masters of the still, the present, and the now.
I'm sorry your winter is so everlasting. Spring is coming, I assure you. I have seen the future, and it is filled with spring. I hope there is some solace in the fact the days are at least lengthening, even if minutely. Sorry also to hear of the headaches. May they abate with haste! Know that your words bring comfort and warmth.
I thought of you last week because I was having lunch outside my building at work and two large birds came hopping over to me, all inquisitive. I gave them a nod, taking a moment to wonder upon what they were wondering. At first I thought they were crows, but then I questioned whether they were ravens, and then I realised I wasn't 100% sure whether we had crows, so I checked, and what do you know, it was a "little" (massive) raven.
This is obviously incredibly off-topic, but this snippet of info also made me smile, so I thought I'd share it:
"If you live in a capital city, it’s very basic because every capital city only has one species. So if you are in Perth, Canberra, or Sydney, chances are you are seeing an Australian raven. If you are in Melbourne and Adelaide, it’s a Little Raven, and a Little Raven is basically only one centimeter shorter than an Australian Raven. So don’t worry and get hung up about the little term. They look basically the same size. If you’re in Hobart, it’s a Forest Raven, and if you’re in Darwin or Brisbane, it is a Torresian Crow."
If I ever get around to writing a book about Death & Birds I'm going to call it Masters of the Still--and I will credit you, but only in very small writing ;)
I genuinely appreciate the reassurance re Spring (especially a future FILLED with Spring, yes please).
I've just been looking at pictures of your little-massive Ravens, and yes--suspiciously similar looking to the Australian Raven! Very sweet that you guys get to enjoy the pocket-sized version 😂 If they hopped over to you in the way that our Crows hop over to us here, then they're a bit reminiscent of dogs, as there's a little sense of excitement in there, I feel!
Hehe, make the writing so small you need a magnifying glass to find it ;)
But I very much look forward to that book!
Yes, definitely some excitement in that inquisitive and intelligent hopping-over.
Oh, Chloe. This is one of my favorite of yours, and that’s saying a lot. It is, indeed, so easy to be consumed by pain.
I have a brown marmalated stink bug living with me. He has long antennae and likes to walk circles around the lamp shade near my work station. Occasionally, something sends him a fluttering, and he’ll buzz up toward the overhead light, wings seeming to flail. I tell him that everything’s all right. But like you with Spartacus, I doubt it’s really worry that causes this sudden occasional upstart.
Oh, Holly, thank you. That's lovely to hear. And so nice to hear about your bug friend, traversing your work station, doing his thing. We're so lucky to share our spaces with other beings, and to be able to offer some words of comfort here and there--whether needed or not!
I've been undertaking a practice I've nicknamed "the threshold"...neither wallow-walking backward into the past or springing with fright into the future. I grasped for the threshold's uncomfortable and odd stability for similar reasons the tree root helped you upend. I can only state at this point that it is a practice and I am curious to see if it changes a few things...even at this elder stage in my life experience. Thank you for your beautiful wordings. I find them comforting.
What a wonderful practice! Thank you so much for sharing it. It sounds like something we could all benefit from leaning in to... I’m happy to hear you’ve found some comfort here, eMMe
Beautiful. I don’t know what else to say. So much power yet so light of touch. Just like a song bird.
Mike, thank you. I’m grateful to you for reading and I’m happy to have you here.
"Good or bad, loved or feared, nothing lasts forever." The ultimate lesson in detachment, dear Chloe. We all need reminding to not get attached to our pain -- or to our joy. It is ALL transient. I understood and loved the two words you tucked in here regarding how we cope In the face of losing someone we love, we "clean, maniacally." That would be my answer for just about everything. This was such a lovely piece. Thank you.
Indeed it is, Sharon! Thank you for picking out those words. I so appreciate you reading.
Your words are medicine for my heart.
Troy, thank you for sharing that. The feeling is certainly mutual.