I have been away on the high seas, seeking warm sunny days, and now I’m home.
Every time I find myself on the deck of a ship, ploughing through ocean waters,
I experience that deep sea change., full of awe to be witness to the world.
Well, I did come home to snow on one of the chilliest days of the year to date.
This morning I sought a poem that would express in few words how home-coming
felt to me.
“HORSES MOVING ON THE SNOW
In winter
through the damp grass
around the house
there are horses moving
on the snow
in the half-light
they move quickly
following the fence
until the mist takes them
completely
and evening
is the hollow sound of hooves
in the south field.”
…….DAVID WHYTE, from his book, River Flow,
New & Selected Poems, 1984-2007
…………………………………….
During that time aboard the Norwegian Cruise Liner Gem, I was away from
my usual distractions and automatic schedules. I was in a population quite
foreign to my usual interests and preoccupations.
I was also with three generations of my daughter Sandy’s family. Great support.
I enjoyed having meals fully prepared. I enjoyed the roll of the moving ship,
pretending I was cradled in the deep, as I often had done as a child.
I found the experience of entertainment shows each night to be delightful.
I could take my walker to the deck level of the highest seating of the theatre
auditorium, and sit there in my walker seat, and enjoy the show.
One afternoon, just a day or so before we were due back in New York,
I showed upbat the auditorium for an “Improv” workshop by actors from
the Second City group.
My daughter Sandy helped me down all the rows to the first row so I could be
part of the workshop. It was an eye-opener for me, and because I could not
manage the walk up to the stage, I was invited to witness the most
extraordinary play from that first row. Within a half-hour, 30 strangers had
become interactive with each other, breaking down the usual cultural barriers
to welcome new and curious notions of how to listen and speak.
They had thrown away their scripts!
That miracle stayed with me and opened my eyes to how limited my life has
become because of my arthritic left hip. I have tried everything short of surgery
for four years, out of my reluctance to endure the post-op experience I’d had
after the right hip was surgically replaced five years ago.
I chose the poem above because the insight gained from that ocean trip was
like coming home, coming home to simply doing what needs to be done to
being part of an active life again.
Cripes ! It takes courage, doesn’t it? Maybe not. Maybe being conscious is
just that simple, seeing what’s so and letting go of old scripts.
……thanks for listening.
with love …
Mom/Mimi/Toni/Antoinette
