Saturday, May 21, 2016

Look up

Summer shouldn't arrive unexpectedly; it's the most predictable thing we have, the passing of time, the migration of birds, the longer days, the warmer air, the buzz of bees becoming louder. But for me, with my head down, it did. At a quarter to six this morning, the light came in and I walked into the kitchen in my white cotton nightdress, the one I usually take with me to Norway and reserve for those white nights when I'm awake at three and watching the sun rise over the bay, and realized that summer had indeed arrived, and with it, birdsong.

We are as closed and as boxed in as we want to be. Just one step away from one's desk, one step outside, one breath of pollen-saturated air, and the world changes. But that's where I've been, head down, treading water or time, or whatever it's called when you're doing things but waiting for The Greatness to arrive. I say that to Charlie, I call him and I say "I'm just waiting till this life starts" and then I realize that I'm in it and all is well and that there is no great catastrophe, and that summer has arrived without my even knowing, that the world goes on, and on, and on, despite my self-woven cocoon.

"You're never alone," he says, and he's right. I behave as if I am because I sometimes forget that the Universe is there, right next to me, within me, outside of me, all around, doing its thing, making sure everything comes true, and right, the way it's meant to. "Believe in the universe" I tell everyone "and its power to open doors for you; it will conspire to help you" but then I see my head down, focused on my keyboard, my clients, my feet, the floor. And then, yesterday, I looked up and the sunlight was in the eucalyptus tree about my desk, through the skylight, and it was a moment of magic. There are signs everywhere.

A video posted by Bumble Ward (@bumbleward) on

2 comments:

Rowan said...

Lovely post. Life affirming! Glad the tree and sunlight and birds are there to greet us, without any input from ourselves.
Cheers,
Deborah, Melbourne Australia

liz said...

ah so inspiring and and and so glad you posted your instagram page! Don't know why I never thought of looking you up on IG as I have followed your blog musings (and yum recipes!) for a long time...

xx
liz from Paris