Mmmm, yessss~

A friend of mine reads cook books the way other people read novels. She rarely carries these books with her into the kitchen. Rather she draws upon her inspirations and pieces together something of her own creation. A little of this and a little of that. I do NOT do this with cookbooks, but I can be found with piles of poetry and books on spirituality surrounding me in the mornings. I page through them, I underline and dog-ear certain pages, I copy lines down in my journal, I absorb and become inspired and nourished. And when I find myself uttering mmm or yessss, I know it's something to share:

Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver,

from SWAN

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don't hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that's often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don't be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

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Mmmm, yessss.