I wasn’t going to write….and then a string of happenings collided…and asked me to share.
Yesterday….
“Somebody is showering with me,” I called to my husband from the bathroom.“Yeah? Who?”
“A big meaty spider.”
True that….poor thing, confused by a sudden deluge of water, was huddled in a corner away from direct spray. It was about the size of a dime, had a crew cut, and wore a white spot on its back.
Unafraid, I didn’t scream, or grasp for the shampoo bottle to squish it. When I shut off the water, it scampered about the slick tiles. I got out, dried off, and forgot all about my partner in clean until…just now.
I wonder where it went….
This morning….
Neighbors have stacked trimmed limbs in spaces between their lawns and our roads—a graveled no man’s land. Town workers will soon come through and shred the discards into mulch. Residents can then buy back piles of pieces to thwart weed growth in their flower beds. It works.
While me and our youngest were out for a walk, she stuffed her snout into a jumble of juniper and pulled out a mouthful of mouse nest. For a moment, I was paralyzed by the unexpected.
Drop it! was ineffective.
I reached down, plied Henrietta’s jaws apart, and the pile plopped onto asphalt. I watched and waited with curiosity while pulling princess away from the dried grass, shredded fabric, and milkweed fluff. I honestly can’t say if I was disappointed…or delighted…that a mouse didn’t scoot across my black shoe laces.
When we got home, I poured my third cup of coffee and sat down with Bring me the Rhinoceros by John Tarrant.
And what does finding freedom mean? When you are objecting to the moment, you are treating the moment as a between, a faux moment, a mistake, not a real moment to be inhabited. If you see that your thoughts are the source of your pain, freedom begins. You have been a character in a novel and suddenly you stop following the script and step out of the novel. No extra effort is needed; you don’t need to write a better script. At the moment of his awakening Buddha said, “I have met the builder and broken the ridgepole. I shall not build that house again.”
The script would have us stomping and screaming about mice and spiders?
I don’t want the script anymore—choosing freedom, curiosity, and courage instead.
Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth. ~George Washington
To all who create—inside or outside of themselves—Happy Mother’s Day!
Holy moly - I don't think I would have lived to tell that story, Gail! lol. My older son came over and we visited socially-distance-like on the porch. We called (sometimes we Facetime) my younger son in Boston. I really miss him - haven't seen him since Christmas! What about your son - he had to come back home to finish out his freshman year, right?
So in the past, would you have screamed at a spider or mouse? I would, and do, if I was startled, depending on how close either was to me. I can take care of teensy-eensy spiders, but anything with a crewcut merits my husband's attention. LOL! Happy Belated Mother's Day, Gail!