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 Lebensfreude 

mother & daughter pomegranate pair

I am sure you have times like these, too. Feeling amused & humored, chuckling, laughing – not just when in company, but also when alone. (Not to be confused with feeling lonely.) It’s the way the squirrel jumps, flies, and lands running along the branches high up in the oaks, mind-boggling – the swift surefooted acrobatics tickle me, make me gasp and giggle… Elegance, ease, and ferocious drive to build, find, hide, feed, explore.  


For the past 6 years, living by myself, I’ll be laughing out loud when reading or listening to the radio, remembering long ago mishaps or watching an interaction on the street. Perhaps between dog and human, crow and hawk, or a car attempting to parallel park in vain. When out walking, I smile at people for no reason. Older folks moving slow will have all the time to smile back. Watching children busy playing by themselves, brings smiles. I find pleasure in a million small moments, dancing with the garden’s plants, cello, mural, my writing, and students. The bowl of warm barley stew or oatmeal, my bare feet on the soft old wooden floors. Delights and gratitude abound. It’s a miracle. And fleetingly, I wonder how I possibly deserve... Honestly, do we? Is it even about us? Just as much as there are times for sorrow, there are times when life is enjoying itself. And life might be enjoying us... Witnessing that owner-less joy, initiates quiet awe in me. So lernen wir die Freude des Lebens kennen. We get to participate in Life’s joy. 


pomegranate, rose petals, nasturtium, strawberry fruit, parsley, rosemary  

all smiling 


Comments

Fern said…
Thanks for the eloquent reminder to "find pleasure in a million small moments" !
October 27, 2022 at 9:13 AM
Alex K said…
It is very sweet what you write. Reading it I felt a bit like what you describe when smiling at a child playing. The pictures also brought a smile to my face. And there is another note touched in me when you write "we get to participate in Life's joy." I am not sure all of what I feel but the thought of life having its own joy is something I have not thought but it ripples within me. Somehow it seems both humbling (it's not just all about us:) and exhilarating.
October 27, 2022 at 2:44 PM
aysha said…
I spent days crying about the sequence of this post following the previous one, where you write about Bob and caregiving. You write, "It is like we are in love all over again as in the beginning of our relationship."

How can there be pomegranates, barley stew and oatmeal after this?
November 6, 2022 at 10:14 PM
Karina said…
yes – how can there? ...so mysteriously beautiful, to be discovered...
November 7, 2022 at 8:25 PM
Summer said…
The photos dazzle me. And the words inivte us into such a warm and welcoming place. Congratulations on your vote in your first election.
November 3, 2024 at 10:05 PM
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