HandymonkeyBlog

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver.

I know I’ve posted this a few times before, but I needed it this morning after a night of troubled thought. Maybe somebody else needs it, too.

After building this lovely hobbit house without obtaining the proper permits, local officials in Wales declared it an eyesore and ordered it to be demolished, b/c it was built on protected countryside property, even though it belonged to the owner’s father.

It has a beautiful tree in the middle, supporting the 2nd floor. 

Luckily, after several years of fighting to save it, the town finally relented and the young family of 3 was allowed to stay. Huzzah!