Instructions for living

“Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. “ — Mary Oliver.

These are Mary Oliver's instructions for living a life. Simple. Yet profound.

Wise advice that I try to enact in my own life. And advice that I like to share with clients.

A recent walk around the block with one of my little grandsons on a cold, rainy grey Toronto day was a powerful lesson on how to enact these.

As we walked and talked, we started to notice the water droplets - not quite frozen but definitely sluggish - hanging off twigs, glittering in the subtle low light.

My grandson was just filled with wonder about the beauty of it all, and had wonderfully poetic descriptions of what it looked like to him.

And he wanted to get a good photo of this to share with the others at home. He took many photos with my phone, which he then edited to get what he was looking for. This little photo is the one he landed on as the best at capturing the beauty for him. And then he has such delight in sharing this.

A small, simple image. Yet, by far the most beautiful and meaningful image that I came across during the week. And a good reminder again of the power of slowing down to notice the small wonders all around us. Or in the words of Mary Oliver:

Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.

© Melinda Sinclair 2024