"Look, we are not unspectacular things. We’ve come this far, survived this much. What would happen if we decided to survive more? To love harder?”
— Ada Limón
This is the gift of living well into my 60’s. For today, I still have time. Time to give that young woman a chance to do some of those things she imagined. A chance to listen to her heart, placing her wants and needs up there with the people she loves.
Today I allow all that love along with those emotions, to live where they want. On the outside, loudly if need be to get my point across, or quietly, close to my heart.
Yes, we are all survivors and lovers… Let’s do both with gusto.
“…as I’ve aged, I have more time for tenderness, for the poems that are so earnest they melt your spine a little. I have decided that I’m here in this world to be moved by love and [to] let myself be moved by beauty.” - Ada Limón
our 24th poet laureate in an interview with Krista Tippett
When I came face to face with all the silence and aloneness of the pandemic, I found myself thinking a lot about my life choices and the paths I took. The older me spent time getting to know the younger me more throughly, often coming face to face with a clearer picture than I was able to see back then.
Old stories that have played in my head for years started shifting, and suddenly the main character (me) begin seeing the scenes differently. A new take on the characters, the actions, the arena, and the carry over. I saw there where times when I took paths that I really didn’t want to take, but did so to fit in or please someone else, because it was easier.
It was exhausting for a while; every single thought and emotion analyzed and critiqued, all while navigating life, along with the rest of the world, through uncharted territory. I see now what a mess I was.