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flea markets.
On 14, Mar 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
today. celebrate. woman.
On 08, Mar 2011 | One Comment | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
trying can be scary.
to ourselves.
learning to pray
On 27, Feb 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
when i was a little girl.
i learned what it meant
to pray.
photo credit: groovycorner.blogspot.com |
in sunday school.
we folded our hands.
and bowed our heads.
and tried not to let our eyes
sneak a peak.
to see if
anyone was cheating.
i remember feeling cramped.
feeling confined.
by the rules.
but.
my mom — my dad — my nana
my papa.
taught me to pray.
and it wasn’t about rules.
it was apart of
everyday.
in the fluidity of the moments.
simple.
yet complex.
because it was important.
and even when i was young.
so young.
i knew
something i could not see
was happening.
something within me stirred.
ever so gently.
but as i grew.
and walked on my way out into the wide
wide world.
i begin to see…
to see many things.
i began to experience truth…
truth that seemed to be
outside the confines of what i understood
to be god.
so i decided to forget…
to forget how to prayer.
because it could not be
that important.
especially if there were
rules.
and divisions.
a few years went by.
as they seem to do,
i remember the first time.
in a mosque.
standing next to my friend.
our heads covered
with brightly colored scarfs.
we stood in perfect rows.
and together
with every woman present
we rocked.
…got to our knees
…pressed our foreheads into the rough carpet
…paused.
…slowly rose to our feet
i was awkward.
my friend’s hand
guided my movement.
she didn’t laugh.
she only smiled.
then repeat.
we rocked.
…our knees
…forehead down
…paused.
…to our feet
three times.
in the middle
of the moment i recognized something.
this praying
it was apart of everyday.
in the fluidity of the moments.
it was simple.
yet complex.
because it was important
and
do you know?
something i could not see
was happening.
something within me stirred.
ever so gently.
and time passed.
as it seems to have the habit of doing.
just yesterday. my friend.
asked me if i would go to
temple with her
to pray. for something very important
that would soon happen to her.
“have you been to a temple?
do you know how to pray?”
i was not
entirely sure how to answer.
she interpreted by pause.
“i will teach you.”
she said.
so on a sunny, spring saturday.
we made our way to
Dongwasa Temple.
famous in this area.
as we approached temple’s door,
we removed our shoes
at the entrance.
the marble floor was cool
on the feet.
three small bows
with our hands together
in the center of the chest.
familiar to a namaste greeting in
yoga practice.
my friend
took my arm
guided me to stand next to her.
whispering,
she told me to follow her.
…we got to our knees
…we placed our hands palm down
…we turned our palms up
…and raised them toward the sky
…paused.
…slowly rose to our feet
repeat.
three times.
do you know?
i recognized something.
this praying.
the fluidity. the simplicity.
yet complex.
because it was important
and
do you know?
something i could not see
was happening.
something within me stirred.
ever so gently.
and my soul told me.
you know this.
mom — dad — nana
your papa.
the mosque.
taught you this
long ago.
so long ago.
but this time?
the rhythm.
the repetition.
the movement.
made space within me
and i felt free.
so very very
free.
three different religions.
history of divisions.
but i can’t help wonder at
the similarities.
to say they are the same.
is to diminish
what is.
and what isn’t.
and who likes it when everything looks
the same.
but maybe.
just maybe we aren’t so different
as we might think.
and i might not think
i want it
or even need it.
but isn’t that what friends are for?
to remind us?
to teach us?
to point us toward the light?
it’s a journey.
and sometimes it uncomfortable.
some days i
won’t think it’s important.
but some days
maybe i will feel that
something within me stirring…
ever so gently.
after all
i am learning.
learning to pray.
young friend
On 21, Feb 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
today.
in my inbox.
from my friend.
a few years
set themselves between us.
but time…
[as mary oliver teaches me daily]
its just another idea.
whenever i am with this friend.
or get to read
a few of her words
on my computer screen i am reminded
why
it is so important to have
friends in different
seasons of life.
she reminds me.
about what it means to be sixteen
heading to twenty-three.
and even though i think i
tell myself everyday…
sometimes coming from my
friend
in the middle of her teens.
i am caused to pause
in a new way.
by the wisdom
that her words hold.
natalie, explore! explore! explore!
stay young and enjoy the ride.
life moves fast.
yes friend you are so right.
and i will.
explore,
stay young,
and enjoy.
small and pink.
On 18, Feb 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
the earth reminded me.
On 14, Feb 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
meanwhile the world goes on.
On 13, Feb 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
i was reminded.
this morning by talking to a friend
of an important, yet simple truth of life.
this friend is a gallant woman.
she faces the world with grace.
and eagerness.
desiring to learn and breath it all in.
her artistic and creative being
is unassuming and inquisitive.
and my friend, she has had
her share of heartache and pain.
so deep and penetrating
she has wondered where the light is —
the past few weeks, we have exchanged
the hilarity of emails about
dreams and future,
men and crushes,
wondering how an old soul
can live properly in all one’s
22-ness.
yet this winter. for me.
time has passed.
slowly.
with its share of loneliness and soul-ache
i did not know why i was here
and i have wondered where the light was —
but today, i was reminded.
of this one simple truth.
that is easy to forget.
life.
it goes on.
it always does.
as the weepies,
the beetles,
and mary oliver
have penned so truthfully and dynamically,
our lives.
they spin on.
pain is real.
heartache torments us.
we wonder if the morning will ever come.
yet everyday the sun rises.
and the moon greets the dusk.
spinning. spinning. spinning.
and we, whether we realize it or not…
we are always moving.
i am reminded how my life is one
note in the great melody that stirs the earth.
i am moving.
and i am many.
early spring. |
late summer. |
sometimes |
the road |
looks different. |
early spring. |
summer. |
“meanwhile the world turns on.” |
it was yesterday.
On 10, Feb 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
creating. for sarah
On 09, Feb 2011 | One Comment | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
color in a coke bottle.
On 08, Feb 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
sometimes the color around me is overwhelming.
it beckons be to stop.
to take a moment.
and be apart of the color.
sometimes i have my camera.
sometimes i don’t.
these moments just happen. and as much as i want to plan them and force them to happen. i can’t. they come and go as they like.
it is my work. to learn how to be present to them.
and to actually…stop.
and see the color.
in a junkyard. on a wednesday night. amongst the coke bottles. and the favorite korean beverage: hite beer.
where do you see the color today?