don't the plants in the fountain look so delicious? not delicious like for eating, but delicious like when you admire how robustly and satisfyingly alive something (or someone) is. seductively alive, i think about how these plants manage to thrive in a man made fountain. i can thrive too.
thich nhat hanh is always talking (if you have read his books) about how the lotus flower has to blossom in the mud. joy and suffering are connected. joy can only blossom after you have experienced suffering.
sometimes i lean my nose down and smell the fountain water. i also just dip my fingers in it and smell my fingers. i hope i don't damage the plants. it smells interesting though. i like the color.
in early 2022 i joined multiple climate justice organizations because i was freaking out about all the trees being cut down around the city. i still freak out but the only way i calmed down enough to function and be part of society was remembering that i am nature, not separate or disconnected. my rest heals the planet. when i heal, nature heals. i feel like spending time near the water is the ultimate rest.
sports that take place on large bodies of water remind me of my childhood. i loved jet skiing, paddleboarding,
kayaking and canoeing.
turtles swim to the shore and look at me with so much care in their eyes. we don't speak but we communicate.
turtles remind us to prioritize rest. turtles don't make money. turtles are not productive. turtles don't have a body of work. their lives are beautiful because they simply are.
turtles live in community. they rest together and swim together. their lives are interconnected.
through many friendships that i have lost, turtles have remained. even after breaking up with my best friend of many years, i can hold on to the times we went to the park and looked at turtles together. i went to the park and looked at turtles with my former therapist who i still love so dearly. turtles are with me forever.
i love to see others rest.
when i go to the park, i always imagine myself dipping into the fountain or the lake. i don't know how i would do it. would i float? i want to feel what the fish and the turtles are feeling. it looks so good, like when you swim for a long time and then come up on the shore to dry off. i want to get drenched in flowery greens and come up for air and then go back in. no other plans.
