The way to love someone
is to lightly run your finger over that person's soul
until you find a crack,
and then gently pour your love into that crack.
~Keith Miller

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

I'm reading a couple of books by John O'Donohue right now. Anam Čara and Eternal Echoes. His work is almost as comfortable and comforting as my favorite Enya songs. I'm pretty sure I'll transfer my notes from my little moleskin to here when I collect all my thoughts on O'Donohue's topic(s). Apparently, he was an admirer of Hegel's work, so I have had a little background work to do. Hegel is represented by some seriously strong thinking ... German. I'm not going to get too distracted with chasing rabbits just now. Here is one of the Hegel quotes which O'Donohue noted. I wish I had my keyboard set to type German. I think I'll see if I can arrange that ... I don't speak German.

Generally, the familiar, precisely because it is familiar, is not known. ~ Hegel
Das Bekannte überhaupt ist darum, weil es bekannt ist, nicht erkannt.

... Supported by this thought from Gabriel García Márquez, "I know her so well now that I have not the slightest idea who she really is." (she ... His wife of thirty years)




When I saw that idea last night, I immediately thought of the chest of drawers that I sat with last week ... and of my husband. L refinished the chest with his dad back in the seventies. It has always been his chest and I've never thought to refinish it or even change the drawer pulls. As I said, I dust it and polish the mirror. I was going to paint a different chest of drawers, one that we found together, the sea glass color that I like so much.
The chest is still sturdy. I really like the new glass pulls and the fun paint color. I like the beachiness of the whole shebang. But what I really love about this particular chest is best seen inside the cabinet. The old wood is beautiful ... dense. The builder of this chest used only hand tools, elbow grease, and maybe a little love, in it's construction.

That is why I want to walk the trail, the Appalachain Trail, with my husband. I am ready to see who he has become. At his events I look across the room and see him, and I know he is not who he was thirty years ago. Who did we help each other become? I know in long term relationships people tend to acquire interpersonal baggage, nursing hurts, neglecting joys.
Now, we are coming to a new phase of our shared life. Something like retirement.

No comments: