Monday, 20 August 2012

At dawn this morning the light is pale yellow, flushing the leaves of the beech tree with primrose until the sun hides behind a white cloud.  Softly a late summer wind shivers the top most branches so that the boughs sway and the dark shadows reappear deep within the summer foliage.  Something about those top branches in the trees reminds me of a time long past in Florida.  Why?  Why would swaying branches and glittering dancing leaves remind me of a holiday in Florida?   Trembling leaves, fluttering leaves, flickering, gathering dancing leaves.  The branches are so long and leggy making their movement a swaying.  Lowering and rising.  Swimming through the air.  Rustling, struggling leaves soon to be free, to fly free.  Flying- yes! But downwards, their one floating, spiralling flight down...down, freed from their anchor, freed from their tether.

..........Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired
and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that 
which you would escape.

These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling.

And when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes
shadow to another light.

And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a 
greater freedom.

-Khailil Gibran-

-Claude Monet-  Le Jardin 

6 comments:

Jane and Lance Hattatt said...

Hello Jane:
What a wonderful evocation of the freedom which is there for us all but which, far too often, we fail to recognize.

And how splendid it is that you observe, and have noticed, these imperceptible changes which, or so we believe, are the very essence of life itself and which have meaning and importance in their own right.

That, and the wonderful quotation, and the more wonderful Monet painting, make this a post to reflect upon for some time to come. Thank you so much.

We shall be absent from our computer for some days; we will return anon!

June said...

Oh Jane, I have missed so many beautiful posts here. I was reading and thinking to myself how glad I am that I have your blog to enjoy.

It looks as though you have had all the rain that I am praying for here. I live in the state of Idaho in the northwestern United States and we have 13 wildfires burning right now. The smoke isn't bad here today, but has been so heavy for three weeks. Oh to see a blue sky again!

Take care of yourself, and thank you for your beautiful posts. I enjoy them every time I stop by.
much love...

WOL said...

I get the impression you are feeling your limitations again. I've been playing around with a story idea that has traveling inside a bubble in it. If anything comes of it, I'll point you to where you can read it.

Young at Heart said...

ooh...just what I needed!!

WOL said...

Have started the bubble story, but haven't finished it. Takes me forever to write things-- I suspect if I wasn't such a perfectionist, I'd get more accomplished -- LOL :o))

Ruthie Redden said...

Isn't it fascinating how our minds work & one thought leads on to another. Beautiful words here Jane as you describe those dancing leaves. x