Yesterday, we ordered sushi for dinner. Support the local economy and take a break from cooking. I was going to look for a movie afterwards with Javier when Paloma said; I want some time with you, just you. That's better than a movie any day.
We were on the back porch. She was talking. I was listening.
I love how open she is with me. I hope she will always be. And, I know that everything changes. Then she started
moving her hands and talking about her love for her hands and how they move
from playing the piano all these years and how she loves to hear me write
because I type like a pianist: posture, arm and hand positions. How, instead of
making all the facial expressions of a musician, I whisper and talk as I write
sometimes. She is funny and good at impressions. To make someone laugh is
powerful. To be able to imitate a loved one, for me, is to see and know and be
comfortable enough to say so. To be imitated with love and humor is to be seen.
Closeness. I love her. She is confident and comfortable in her skin at fifteen. May
she always be so and when she is not, may she remember how to come back to this
place of safety within and without.
Paloma says she loves to hear me write. Writing sounds like
music to a musician. The sound of my fingers hitting the keys, audible
recognition of the space bar. The delete, delete, delete. A musical rhythm of
words stringing themselves together inside. Typed. The rhythm of the keys.
To be seen, heard, loved and appreciated is to be held in
reverence. To give a loved one your time is a gift that will be cherished.
There is universality in this experience. We all need to be seen, heard and loved.
To see, hear and love.
We really have such little time on this earth. I don't know when my time will expire. My love for Ireland and the Celtic Tradition includes a deeply ingrained understanding, a reverence for life. I don't know how much time I have. I know that I am healthy today, that I am good and it is imperative to say and share what I feel in my heart, in the moment. Because this moment is all I have.
They say, how we live today is how we live our lives. If there was ever a doubt about the fact that we are mortal and everything is temporary, this time on earth is offering a timely reminder. May we use our time wisely and check in withourselves and each other daily:
What makes you feel alive, nourishes your soul, makes you feel seen, heard and loved? For me, there is a list that includes: writing. On my daughter's list: music.
In the words of Rumi, "Let the beauty of what you love, be what you do."
