Nature is my Religion

The cathedral we visited today.


Joy,
And Joy is Everywhere;
It is in the Earth's green covering of grass;
In the blue serenity of the Sky;
In the reckless exuberance of Spring;
In the severe abstinence of gray Winter;
In the Living flesh that animates our bodily frame;
In the perfect poise of the Human figure,
noble and upright;
In Living;
In the exercise of all our powers;
In the acquisition of Knowledge;
in fighting evils...
Joy is there Everywhere.
~ Rabindranath Tagor


My parents arrived last night, late.
We stayed up talking over wine and left over pizza,
then today we trapsed about the countryside ~ to old and new parliament houses;
sinking tired legs into leather couches, marvelling at our town through the eyes of tourists.
Neither of my parents have been to Canberra before, and it is a blessing for them to be here.
It is a big movement for both of them to leave behind the farm and work and family to visit us, and have their first holiday in god knows how long. My father hadn't been on a plane for 23 years.
So we found a cathedral ~ St Andrews ~ and we peered through its closed doors, touched a velvety fern, crushed lavendar in our hands as we wandered through its gardens. The perfect roundness of peaches hanging in their trees. The bright blooms of hydrangeas.

And I realise even in my sore legs and okayishness, how remarkable everything is.
How lucky I am for my parents to be here. And to have these tiny, tender moments with them.

Like at the National Portrait Gallery ~ I saw a painting of Aboriginal artist Albert Namajtira, and thought to myself: my gosh that looks like Jimmy Little, the Aboriginal singer. And my Dad walked around the corner, and said ~ hey is that Albert Namatjira! Gawd, that looks just like Jimmy Little to me! And it was nothing, but it was everything to me.

Blessings on all your days ~ each everyday, normalday, anyday.

Love and laughter,
Leonie


And blessings on your night too. As I wafted into sleep last night I saw and felt Charlie my dog lying on my belly, and I knew he was bringing my brother Clinton to visit me.