The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay was te our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
These famous lines of poetry written in 1807 by the English poet William Wordsworth. It echoes familiar anxieties that have taken up residence in our collective subconscious and proceeded to release a dark flood of bad news that haunts our over-stimulated brains to the point where we feel we have “given our hearts away.”
Despite our grim situation, the things we treasure most are still in play in the landscape if we focus our attention on the values that make life worth living. And when we find their expression in real life, there is no doubt in our hearts that even this too shall pass. And that’s happened to me about a month ago.
There was no fanfare or heroic drama, just a drive-by moment by reminding me of David Whyte’s brilliant line, “everything is waiting for you.” In this case, it turned out to be a baby. Not mime, but for close friends who showed up at my house to share the good news about their first baby. Their concentrated beam of love and pride was so bright; it could have landed an aircraft. I could hear the deep rumble of Ancestors fore and aft busy putting the final touches on the nucleic acid of destiny. I asked if I could create a painting for the baby’s room. Of course, they beamed. Below is the art I created for them. It entitled: Prelude To New Life.
You can’t control what life brings to your front door, but you can heap attention to those things that nurture and protect your heart.
Prelude To New Life
by David Solie