Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The love inside, you take it with you.

My living room smells like banana boxes. Which, surprisingly, smell the same as apple boxes. Must be the fruit/cardboard combination, slightly earthy with just a hint of sweetness. It's a smell I associate with moving.

Years ago, I discovered that fruit boxes are the best and most economical way to move my schtuff from town to town. That came after ruling out liquor stores, which are generous with their boxes, but these tend to be odd shapes and sizes and never have tops. In Georgia, the grocery chain I found most generous with boxes, is Kroger. In California, it was Vons. They're always very gracious and will even save them from the recycler for you if you ask.

They rarely turn lose of banana boxes. I forget why. But, the Kroger in Dawsonville had stacks and stacks, so I brought home six, all that would fit in my cart and my car. Nothing like a crazy lady pushing a cart of boxes stacked higher than her head, maneuvering the randomly placed middle displays of fruit, bread and flowers. We needed a red light at one of those intersections, but a woman driving a motorized cart yielded to the crazy lady. It is a befuddlement to me why the powers that be arrange those sections so haphazardly.

When I got home I tossed the boxes on the front porch. Last I'd looked there was no rain in the forecast for days and days. And I was starving. It was close to 8:00 and I was coming off a sugar crash. Remember my no sugar, no bread? That lasted for almost two weeks before going by the wayside...along with my daily walk. Today, I'm starting again. I promise.

This morning I woke to raindrops falling a mere foot from my head. I lay there, smiling, enjoying the melody, then pulled back the blinds to peek and prayed that it would rain hard enough and long enough to wash the pollen of a quadrillion oaks, pines and cherry trees and a gajillion grasses away.

Rising, I put water on for my tea, opened the blinds to let in the lovely rainy day and saw Seven, our landlord's cat sitting on the porch in the rain, waiting for breakfast. When I opened the door to feed him, he ran in and Bugsy ran out. And I saw my glorious banana boxes, soaking up the rain. Operation rescue ensued, first the boxes (which are hardy and drying and smelling up my living room), then the shop vac that Randy keeps forgetting to take back to work.

Satisfied that my work, for the moment, was done, I sat in the ancient armchair with my tea, wrapped in the soft fleece jacket Carolyn gave me for Christmas, gazing out the window at God's handiwork. My world has turned green, even the white oak which seemed so hesitant at first, coaxed out of its bark by the warm spring sun. Soon, my vista will change. This weekend in fact. I wondered if my landlord would let me come by occasionally, to sit on the back steps, soak up the view and pet Seven. I just might ask.

As I type, the soft rain grows heavier, soothing my senses and sating my soul. The ocean does that. The susurration of the wind in the pines. My cat's purrs. The mockingbird's song. I love yous. Even thunder clapping and rolling. These all transform me, make me whole.

I am learning so much from my self-imposed exile, growing in leaps and bounds. About who I am. Who I'm not. What matters. What doesn't. I shared, long ago, about the light at the end of the tunnel, and having found it. I am now finding that there is more light, within that light, if one is willing to look. As a seeker, I must. I have no choice.

Freedom comes with knowing my self. Freedom to be who I am and who I'm not. Freedom to just be, without worrying about what you might think about that. I'm discovering it's not your judgments that haunt me, or harm me. It's my own

The stories I'm told, and the ones I make up, keep me running. It is these that keep knocking me to the ground. Always, eventually, I come back to the truth. I am not lost, I am found. I am safe, submerged in the stillness of Self, I've come home to the sanctity of my soul. Because nothing is real but love.

This brings to mind Sam's closing line in Ghost, "It's amazing Molly. The love inside, you take it with you." I had to go find it, and share.



Rest in Peace, Patrick Swayze. And Rest in Peace to my dear Aunt Aggie, who passed in to the light this past Saturday, April 17, 2010 at about 4:25 p.m. EDT. My cousins are laying her to rest today, on top of my Uncle Dick. Guess she got the last word. Or at least she came out on top.

I had the high privilege of telling her goodbye on Friday, before she entered a blessed morphine-induced peace. She was ready to go. And promised to give my Mama a hug for me. Aunt Aggie, I love you. Goodbye. For now...

Pictures from top to bottom: freshly fetched banana boxes, after drying out; Seven and Bugsy, caught yesterday, sleeping in the sun...born on different coasts, these two could be brothers; a close up shot of the rising sun shining through the trees outside our dining room window; a youtube clip from Ghost.

11 comments:

Ivy Bliss said...

I love this. You are so beautiful - inside and out. Just thinking of the smile you gave me when you looked up on Saturday night makes me smile.
Here's my favorite love quote, which is not surprisingly, from The Beatles. "And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make."

Larry Kollar said...

The light rain… it can be soothing, unless your son left windows down in two vehicles. Then you're glad it's light rain, because it didn't soak everything in said vehicles.

Moving away, my neighbor I've only talked to online… hope you & Randy can come around before Moving Day.

Olivia J. Herrell, writing as O.J. Barré said...

Hear, hear, Ivy, I love that, too! Those dudes were so deep. Likewise, for Saturday. Looking up and seeing you there and knowing you'd hurried up here, driving umpteen miles after and before busy days, just to be there for me...well...I was, and still am, soul-touched. Thank you ever so much, for that and for your praise.

FAR, aww geez! I've been keeping my windows and top up 'cause of the pollen, thank goodness. Hope your cars dried out as well as my boxes did. We may not make it before moving day, HEY, I need one more guy to help on Saturday!!! You up for moving a washer, dryer, one heavy clothes chest thingy a king-size mattress and a few smaller odds and ends???

We don't have much, no time yet to accumulate. I'll have most of the boxes moved by then. I'll throw in a free adjustment for your troubles...:)

Lennox Fleary said...

you take it with you. You are a carrier and a courier. Of Love.

Thanks

Olivia J. Herrell, writing as O.J. Barré said...

As are you, my dear Lennox...and all of us...

Suburban Correspondent said...

Dear Lord, throw out the boxes! Grocery store boxes have roach eggs in them. Use computer paper boxes instead.

Olivia J. Herrell, writing as O.J. Barré said...

Hi Suburban, thanks for popping in! I've heard that over the years about brown grocery store bags, but never about fruit boxes. I've moved 19 times since 1998 (which I write about in the Moving Again post), all with apple and banana boxes and nary a roach! Maybe I'm lucky, or maybe the roach thing is an urban legend. Either way, yay for no roaches! Stop in any time.

A.T. Post said...

Jeez, I read this the day you posted and somehow missed out on commenting on it!

A study in splendor on many levels. Pain, toil, hardship, and learning to cope with directionlessness and loss. Quite triumphant, Rebel. Inspirational to read, but not insufferable like motivational speakers or pep talkers would be. Understated grace, that's what you seem to possess.

And you used the word "susurration" in a blog post. That alone is priceless. Nice job!

Olivia J. Herrell, writing as O.J. Barré said...

God, Postman...leave it to you to make my day. Thanks. I LOVE the word susseration. It can apply to many things, but to me, it will always be the sound the wind makes in the tops of the pines. Bless you for leaving your mark on my blog and my life, soul brother.

Olivia J. Herrell, writing as O.J. Barré said...

OMG, I misspelled susurration!!! Me, who is always soooo careful to make sure I'm spelling words correctly and am using the right one, etc. Hahaha! I went from a deep shade of crimson to a vaguely pink, oh well.

A.T. Post said...

Hey - did I correct you? Huh? No, I didn't. I used to be about as uptight as any egghead could be about spelling, but I don't care so much now. Chances are, 500 years ago, Shakespeare would've laughed us right off the street for our assiduous spelling. I just bet you he would've.

Oh...and you're welcome. More than welcome. Thanks for writing.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...