Category: Words in Sentences

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Words in Sentences

About Easter

by Erin2 Comments on About Easter

The more I have come to live, the more I have come to realize that in waves of doubt or despair – literally equal in that moment – are hope and celebration.

The church has failed so many people and Easter really is simply undoubtedly a celebration of spring, light after darkness, new life and the mystery of creation… the joy you feel when the green of your hostas or ferns, the yellow of your tulips or lillies straight up usher in the first real day of winter being over.

These are undebatable truths. These can be communally celebrated, witnessed and experienced.

But about Easter.

I am an Easter person. And it’s not because I was raised on lyrics like “veiled in flesh the Godhead see” or “Christ the Lord has RISEN TODAY – ALLELUIA”. Which built an understanding of a savior and my need to be saved.

And though I am suspicious to believe I am Easter person because I have experienced ruach – spirit – pranayama in the humbly low brass tones of // crown him with many crowns – the lamb upon the throne // and how (even in this very moment) I am moved to tears thinking of how love is bigger than me, love requires faith, and so LOVE must be DIVINE. Holy. Recognition worthy. Eyes closed feel it worthy, divine. I know it’s not just that.

No. I think deep in my bones I am an Easter person because I know moments in my life where I have experienced a different, more peaceful or positive, emotion after a terribly anxious, fearful one have been moments where I have sacrificed, let the bad guys have their way while keeping my belief, or where I held the hand of a dying woman to then witness the peace of her dead body; her spirit obviously not there.

Maybe religious Easter coincided with seeing Christ energy in the sun, the green, the grass. Or feeling the open hearts of those experiencing beautify after thunder, darkness and silence. Maybe we should all scale it back out of headlined beliefs and generational religion and feel what we know to be true: the natural cycle of new life coming after death.

I am an Easter person. A finder and lover of the silver lining. A collector of rocks, an exchanger of peace, an encourager of hope.

A lover of green ferns.

A celebrator of the faithfulness of the rising sun and moon.

Words in Sentences

Saturday Curried Rice @ A Cold, Gray Day of Spring Organizing

by ErinLeave a Comment on Saturday Curried Rice @ A Cold, Gray Day of Spring Organizing

The cat just came and sat down next to me on a pile of jackets that are sorted into degrees of warmth / protection / heaviness. David and I just had lunch on the Adirondack chairs outside – him taking a break from organizing the trailer and shed, me taking a break from the hall closet / laundry room sorting going on (ya know – the kind of sorting that makes you decide where your vases are going to go).

I fixed us a little lunch of what we had in the fridge; playing with some of the Asian flavors I brought into the mix this week.

All in all, it was a lunch of yellow curry rice mixed into a hearty blend of bite-sized green beans, apple, onion, mushrooms and sautéed’ bok choy. I added the tiniest bit of broth after the veggies were cooked (done in oil, soy sauce and 1 tsp of red pepper flakes) and stirred in about a spoonful or two of coconut milk.

For the first time in my cooking (at least that I am making mental note of), I paid special attention to the color of the dish. My decision to mix the rice into the veggie mix was because of the fact the yellow curry was put into the water when I made the rice. So the rice was this vibrant yellow color and the veggie mix was a dull but happy brown.

Paying attention to color.

If that can matter in cooking, where else could that matter?

Deep thoughts for you. Here’s a picture of lunch. Back to my beach blankets, outing bags, and picnic / outdoor play equipment. Spring / Summer, I am ready for you. You inspire even my rice. :)

Saturday Curried Rice named not just for the day I made it but for the notion that it is made from what veggies you have left from the week before shopping day :)
Words in Sentences

airports and big rocks @ my parents’ house on a spring day

by ErinLeave a Comment on airports and big rocks @ my parents’ house on a spring day

last night i asked david for his thoughts on me buying a plane ticket and immediately cancelling it just to buy a plane ticket. just now, sitting on my parents’ screened in porch on a march day where the sun and the breeze work together to both comfort and remind you of your need for comfort, i had a pulse of longing for that way you feel when you deplane, work your way through that familiar yet unfamiliar corridor with your suitcase of exactly what you believe you need for however long you planned for.

it’s a feeling of novelty meeting intimacy and exploration using roots. travel. travel, i love you.

on my instagram story this morning, i shared how – in surveying my mom’s backyard for a place to sit and do a little reading and doodling – i realized my obvious choice of: on the creek bed rocks. i shared some of my favorite sits across malibu, ojai, palo verdes, washington state bays, florida beaches.

pretty sure it was after that little picture hunt i had my craving for an airport, that feeling of my travel charms against my chest and the smell of whatever essential oil i chose to accompany my journey. the feel of too much starbucks, a new time zone and the excitement – focus – and anxieties of travelers around me.

i love people. the people i meet on travel have a special folder in my icloud. confident young girls, old graceful men, foreign women who are beyond elegant in their simple cosmopolitan ways. the sunglasses, the water bottles, the caps. the shoes.

i always notice peoples shoes when traveling. i take pictures of my hikers by rocks. i marvel at who people are when in common commute: who are you and why are you going where i am going? though not the one who initiates conversation; i might ask you a question or offer a thread of thought, of appreciation, or compliment.

i think travel is when the real spiritual work of moving people from one place to another happens. it’s an ancient thing: moving from one coordinate to another. and the astonishing truth that a moment with a stranger can change a person’s life, an annoying stranger can give you the patience life lesson of a lifetime, a new food or cultural attribute can inspire a whole new chapter in your life.

i have always said i love travel because it allows you to see yourself against a different backdrop than your ordinary one. things you love and did not realize you love, you will find when you travel. the things you do consistently – that are a part of your being – you do when you travel. the things you need more of in your life, you come across and cherish when you travel. you become when you travel.

today? i traveled to my mom’s creek. i read a myth about how two constellations came to be based on native american folklore. i laid out a half of one of my poems for my publishing project. i drank coffee. i felt chills.

where will you travel today to feel something different? to love what you love? to be who you are?