Take the world into your arms
...When it's over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.
-excerpt from When Death Comes, by Mary Oliver
I know for a fact that I can’t, upon my deathbed, claim that all my life I was married to amazement. So much of my time on earth has been spent sighing, frightened and full of argument. So much of it has been devoted to watching bad movies and doing draining, tedious work under fluorescent lights. Do you feel the same way?
If so, my hope is this: that you and I can do better, going forward. That we can do our best, every day, to remind ourselves that this life is precious and rare and fleeting. That we are meant to be connecting more deeply with each other, with nature, with ourselves. That we are inherently powerful and creative.
I’ve made leaps and bounds towards this way of thinking and living in the past few years, though I still stumble and catch myself in a fog fairly often. And that's OK. Modern life is designed to keep us in a fog.
But if you notice yourself sleepwalking through life, say, while you’re endlessly scrolling on your phone, or zoning out in front of the TV, congratulate yourself for noticing, and take the opportunity to remind yourself there’s another way: to be married to amazement, and take the world into your arms.
The little brain objects to this: “But I don’t have time! I’m really very busy! And when I do have a moment to myself, I deserve to unwind by binge-watching 7 episodes of Broadchurch! And who has the money to go on fancy, fantastical adventures anyway?”
Er, perhaps that’s just me. But we all know much of the amazement in this life comes from simple pleasures. Earthly delights, like watching the sunrise, playing with a puppy or watching a toddler noticing something for the first time.
How can you take the world into your arms today?