I am not sure how to get to where you are from here. And yet I know today you might be needing something. So I have a little boat that can cross the sea. I have a pigeon that can carry a basket and fly across mountains. I have a little cart pulled by two companionable oxen that can tirelessly travel the roughest roads. Listen carefully over the next few weeks and you might hear the bells they like to wear around their necks, as they get closer. For all you need to do is expect that relief is coming. Anticipate that things will be better when your package arrives. Feel hope, imagining that even before you needed something, what you needed was on its way to you. What will you find? There is a handmade mailbox filled with notes from everyone that has loved you, the living and the dead. The notes are reminders of wonderful moments and how much you mean, or meant and still mean, for even if people are “gone’ they still touch you in a breeze. Some notes have dried tears on them. They are always tears of happiness though, even if we would not think it so. There is such love in these notes. Just imagining what they contain fills my heart up. Think about who might have written. What might they be remembering about you? I wonder what you would write to them if you had a chance. What a lovely idea, to write; for eyes that can still drink in your words or the breezes that might dance across each letter on a page. The breeze might even take the page home. I have sent you three Paperwhite bulbs, in a little pot with some pebbles from your favorite place. At first only the pebbles will please you, how they feel, what they make you think of. They bring you to a place you love. The bulbs look lifeless, brown, uninspiring. But once they hear your voice and are within your sunshine, once they have been greeted with some water to quench their thirst, they will begin to send out little roots. They will begin to send out green arms, reaching up to wave at you if you spend time with them. They will rise, taller and fuller than you could imagine. They will bloom, and you will try to name the beauty of their fragrance to your friend who has a stuffed up nose. You will breathe deeply, trying to describe this simple thing, and finding it impossible. All this was within those dormant bulbs. It had been so hard to see any possibilities in these bulbs. That such beauty could come from such bleakness might make you smile. Oh, an orange too, you might think as you shift it in the box. It might take a bit until you see it. For here is a beautiful orange. Your hand will naturally cup around it. It is as bright as the sun and as round as the earth. Why are they always so perfect I wondered, as I thought to put it in your package. It comes with its own protective covering so that I know it can travel, its little sections secure side by side. It is safe even though each section contains hundreds of fragile little pillows of liquid. It will not leak. Your mouth might water on the day you start to peel it. Your eyes might rest on the beautiful color, your nose will be eager, your mouth ready even as you read this, even though the package is only on its way. Your hands will be great tools and will remember how to open it. Oranges are easy to share. You can share sections with a companion be it a man or beast. As I packed it, I sent with it the fun of my own dog when I share an orange. He takes his piece gently from my hand, as if he remembers what a miraculous treat it is. As if he is honored to share. Oh dear friend, what else might you be needing? For if you are reading this, there is a package making its way to you. I am almost done with what to put inside, just a few more things… I added a box of new crayons yesterday, and a sketch book and pencils, for I have always loved your creativity. I am surprising you with an instrument, so that you will play and sing. I have filled the box with reminders to dance more, move your body with pleasure. Hiking shoes, a stick from the woods to walk with, wool socks and a scarf knit stitch by stitch with love…The boat, the oxen, and the pigeon are all excited. They know who they will be seeing. They are so ready to surprise you. Is there anything else you want me to put in? Send me your wish on the next breeze. Stay hopeful. Feel the ease of knowing that something is always on its way; something is always on its way, no matter what. Book pages with illustrations are from "The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet" by Reif Larson
1 Comment
Arlyne Ball
12/4/2014 08:53:50 am
i loved reading the words and it took me away for a moment. Thanx for sharing and thanx for creating this.
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