Stillness 5-11:
Forty-one years ago, on May 11, 1979, my husband and I went to a concert in New York City. It was our first real date. We’d met three weeks earlier through mutual friends and the gravitational forces between us were evident from the time of our first meeting, even if we were somewhat unconscious of them.
Looking back over the years and decades since then, all I can really say about life is “thank you.” There’s very little else, really, when one looks at the big picture. All the small things, the big things, the struggles, the aches, and the adventures become a symphony, with its ups and downs, loud and soft, various movements, resolving again to its initial harmony, and the quiet between the notes too. Seen from the panorama of the whole, rather than a crescendo here or a trill there, I’d say it’s been a masterpiece. Not because life was always great and happy, but because we wrote it, practiced it, improved on it, conducted it, loved it, and each other, and listened to it again and again.
Feeling grateful is not about romance, marriage, or a special someone. For many years I felt married to “Mr Write”: my passion for writing overshadowed everything else in my life. Our passions change and shift constantly: careers, family, imagination, travels, and home weave into the orchestral whole and create the masterpiece. What’s important is to listen to it. Don’t judge or criticize. Just listen–hear it with your whole heart.