Blessings: For Ear, For Eye, For You

Running along the Beach by Joaquin Sorolla

Can’t you hear the laughter of the children, the slap of running feet, the rush and tumble of the waves? Don’t you love the way the light dazzles as it touches water and skin? All caught with an artist’s eye: these small, common blessings.

I’m pairing this painting by Joaquin Sorolla with the poem “Blessings For Sound” below by David Whyte as a timely message for this Thanksgiving holiday.

I found Whyte’s poem at at his Substack site, along with a gorgeous video of him walking through the countryside with a reading of his poems in the background. Well worth subscribing to and watching, if you haven’t already.

I also want to take this moment to thank you, all the readers of this newsletter. You have blessed my life with your thoughtful comments and encouragement and with your own newsletters that have inspired me so much. I hope you know how grateful I am for this little community of writers and readers.

May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving.

BLESSING FOR SOUND

I thank you,
for the smallest sound,
for the way my ears open
even before my eyes,
as if to remember
the way everything began
with an original, vibrant, note,
and I thank you for this
everyday original music,
always being rehearsed
always being played,
always being remembered
as something new
and arriving, a tram line
below in the city street,
gull cries, or a ship’s horn
in the distant harbour,
so that in waking I hear voices
even where there is no voice
and invitations where
there is no invitation
so that I can wake with you
by the ocean, in summer
or in the deepest seemingly
quietest winter,
and be with you
so that I can hear you
even with my eyes closed,
even with my heart closed,
even before I fully wake.

-by David Whyte from The Bell and the Blackbird