If I Were to Die Tomorrow

This poem is written by my dear friend, Mary Natwick, from her book Waking a Lover. I enjoyed the poem so very much that I wanted to share it with all of you. I particularly connected with the part about sunsets, since I am so often struck by there unbelievable beauty. They feel like such a gift; just like Mary's poem.

If I Were to Die Tomorrow

I never got to go on an African safari

or see the Northern lights

or visit Schotland and Wales, or take a ferry

up the Sognefjord in Norway to my ancestors' farm

I never got to climb Mount Everest

and that pilgrimage through Spain sounded so tempting!

--and Stonehenge--

--the Amazon River--

but it was never on my list to have so many good friends

to have such a Buddha-teacher son

to have a husband who knows me so intimately

he can even explain me to myself

it was never on my list to love little scrinchy newborn babies

no moments made my list,

like the scarlet tanager singing in the blossoming pear tree

the coyote sitting on a desert road at sunrise

laughing uncontrollably never made the list

and sunsets: tonight while driving into stunning purple and

orange swirls I said "this must be the best one ever"

even though I've seen a thousand such -- can you imagine,

a thousand spectacular sunsets!

How lucky can a person get?

If I were to die tomorrow, I would have only a few

regrets -- one of which might be that my list was

so much shallower than my life

Mary Natwick, Waking a Lover

www.spokenincense.com/

Yosemite 2011

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." --John Muir

We just returned from our annual trip to Yosemite. I've been going since I was 7 years old and it gives me immense joy to see the delight on every child's face and being under those giant redwoods and surrounded by the enormous boulders and gorgeous waterfalls. The children riding their bikes have this sense of freedom and independence that perhaps feels like driving a car for the first time when you are 16. There is something different about riding a bike there. It is truly the ultimate playground for children topped off by a campfire every night. As an adult I'm moved by it's beauty every year.

It was a unique year this year. It was unusually cold. No bathing suits by the river and instead winter jackets, space heaters and lots of blankets in the tent cabins. Somehow in the cold I felt like I was visiting a new place. I have to be honest and say I wasn't looking forward to the cold when I saw the weather report. Camping in the cold did not sound like fun to me. Many people cancelled their reservations when they saw the weather. But there was a beauty to the cold I hadn't seen before. I hadn't seen the clouds in front of the granite walls. And because of the record snow fall this year there were waterfalls that didn't previously exist. The giant dogwoods were in full bloom instead of at the end of their season. My sister and I went on a walk and when we came back the boys were all playing hide-and-go seek among the rocks. And for all the work it is for the parents with planning, loading, driving and setting up camp, to see the kids blissfully playing reaffirms the joy is worth the effort to get there. And even though a large number of people visit the park is so large that you are still able to have moments alone. Moments in the wilderness.

For recipes and pictures from the last ten years of Yosemite trips click here.