Friendship
and being seen
Being Seen
Today the Maple
Is our house of prayer
Goldfinches join us
zip around in praise for
this beautiful morning
And dandelions
in abundance
My children whisper in awe,
“Look at their bright yellow bellies.”
Their eyes dart from
grass to Maple—
House Finch sings
Let us thank our
Great Creator who
Nourishes
and cares for us
And to not forget
to be friends with
the songbirds, the Maple
the Sky, and the dandelions
under our feet…
We must not forget.This resonated:
"The ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the other nor of the self, the ultimate touchstone is witness, the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone."
- David Whyte from "Friendship" in CONSOLATIONS
Hi Julie! I love the tone of your writing this morning. Sharing your awe for Nature as well as your children’s, motivates me to be awestruck on my walks with my dog. After I trimmed Izzie’s coat yesterday I placed the potential bird nest lining near the birdbath. Within an hour I saw birds arriving to pick some then fly away.
Your words about not forgetting our bird friends, with David Whyte’s on seeing and being seen as friends, is music to my ears.
Thanks for the example you set for us.
Beautiful writing and quote. Makes me thoughtful this beautiful morning. Thank you Julie!