Inrageous/Outrageous Self-Care Enchantments for This Week
One of my favorite poets is Mary Oliver. I don’t read or write much poetry any more, I sure did when I was a teenager and in college. I have included a “zoey ryan†original, (written around the age of 17 and full of teenage angst) at the bottom of the enchantments. I also remember first year college, Poetry 101 and long winter evenings in Camrose, Alberta, reading romantic poetry with my boyfriend. I was attracted to ee cummings as well as some of the Victorian era poets. I was also attracted to my boyfriend and the whole idea of reading poetry together.
Back to Mary Oliver, poet and Pulitzer prize winner and her wonderful poem:
The Summer Day
“Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean–
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down–
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?â€
So, in the spirit of Mary Oliver, the summer season and poetry the self care enchantments for this week are all about poetry!
Self Care Enchantments for the week:
1. Read some poetry while sipping mint juleps on the veranda (oops, getting carried away, let’s leave it at “read some poetryâ€).
2. Write a poem!
3. Spend time outside, simply sitting “idle and blessed†watching grasshoppers, or bees or dragonflies!
“May your life be like a wildflower, growing freely in beauty and joy each day.â€
– Native American Proverb
Please share about your learning and exploration with these enchantments on www.thepowblog.com in the comments section of these enchantments !
namaste,
Zoey
Zoey Ryan
coach . catalyst . shakti sage
life & business coach for women
“Coaching for your heart & sou and the heart & soul of your businessl”
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Laughing
“Sometimes I laugh,
So as not to cry.
Funny isn’t it?â€
– Zoey age 17
“Freedom is a bigger game than power. Power is about what you can control. Freedom is about what you can unleash†– Harriet Rubin
Walt Whitman is my favorite poet. He transcends gender identity and speaks of spiritual cohesion with nature.I am taking a summer course and finding he is going to be someone whom I can write about and identify with in my course. This uplifts me. Last summer I taught a poetry course…it was a adventure in learning for me…and I love Zoey’s blog on this topic/
I do love poetry, too, Zoey! I did my fair share of composing angst-y verses throughout high school and university, too! Gulp! Here’s a little “summer” poem that I happened upon today.Thought you might like it… :)Thanks so much for sharing your sage and compassionate words with us!
In Praise of dandelions by Diane Corbin
I admire dandelions
They rise up unbidden,
dotting the lan
with spots of gold.
You can’t get them out
For every one
dug from the earth
legions sprout
in their stead.
They stand up for their right
to be where they choose,
defiantly yellow in the grass.
They are subversive,
taking back their wildness
from the cultivated bluegrass,
audaciously disrupting
the mowed evenness.
When dandelions turn
from gold to grey
they send their daughters
on the wind to reclaim
the feral earth.
Oh Shannon,
What a beautiful poem, I love this! I remember once when I was really little, I picked my mom a dandelion bouquet and thought it was the most beautiful bouquet in the world. I was so proud of myself 🙂
Dandelions are bright, resilient, strong and “subversive” (love this word) and have much to teach us.
Thank you for adding this!
Aley,
Ah Walt Whitman, love his poetry too, this is my fav:
“Re-examine all you have been told…dismiss what insults your soul.”
Aley, you are a very valuable resource when it comes to poetry and writing, thank you for your adds!
namaste,
Zoey