INSPIRED by mary anne radmacher

 Dear You, I am the ancient partner to the wide spaces of sea and sky. I adorn the crests and feathers of noble birds. I announce the arrival of many tropical fish. I bloom from soil and among the common, blooming warm colors, appear like magic. In spite of my breadth and longevity, there are many things I do not know, at least not with any certainty. And even more things that I cannot recall. Consider me and you. Did you come to the planet with the qualities of loyalty, wisdom, trust, confidence and intelligence? If so, would that explain why you were naturally, from the beginning, drawn to me? On the other hand, were all of your qualities so familiar and engaging that I naturally came alongside you? I can’t remember and perhaps it doesn’t matter. I do not know the origin of me being your favorite. I DO know that we do good work in the world together and we look good while doing it. Gratefully yours,  The Color Blue (Illustration from a series called “favorite colors” by M

  Hello! Ta-da! It’s me, Surprise. Not a party this time, just another day. Another unusual, uncommon, unexpected, unfamiliar (extra)ordinary day. Surprise! See how I slipped in the extra into the ordinary? That’s how I roll. The more you look, the more extra you’ll see. I hear a lot of chatter about “things getting back to normal.” Oh, how that makes me laugh right out loud. Since I frequently host parties, I hate to be a party pooper (but!) “normal” is a figment of your imagination and your culture’s imagination. On this side of the cosmic window, it looks like a sense of “normal” brings comfort to people. I get that. Point of fact…Every. Single. Second. is unrepeatable. Sure, patterns can be identified but they do not support the concept of a normal, as much as they are steppingstones to understanding and insight. Surprise wraps around just about every breathing second. Just because you recognize a thing doesn’t make it normal, it just means you are becoming better acquainte

  Dear You, All Grown Up: We were young together. And now? We are old, apart. I was happy to give you shelter in our early years. It was endearing that you often tried to comfort me. My name, The Weeping Willow, led you to believe I was crying. Only as you grew did you realize my downward bend represented flexibility, not sorrow.  I whispered many truths to you in the moments you leaned against my trunk. - Spirituality is rooted but never fenced. - Leaves fall and they still have important work to do. - In between climbing, swinging and always trying to fly, time to pause and rest matters. All trees teach listening. You gave me the chance to do what I was put on earth to do. In that way you were shelter to me. You were a willing student in childhood and I am grateful to observe that you continue to learn. I know that there’ll come a time, time away from now, that we will again be shelter to one another. Until then, keep deepening those roots as well as your capacity to li

  To: Mary Ann Radmacher ( you were born without that “e” and we keep it that way) From: Innui Malaise, Supervisor , "Fancy Random Blahs" Department (FRBD) Dear Mary Ann, Be informed that as of midnight we are quitting you. We have repeatedly tried to resolve our operational differences throughout this entire last year. We found you far less cooperative than you have ever been. You’ll see in your permanent record an accounting of outstanding years when you completely responded to ALL the FRBD requests. The entire staff of FRBD are at a loss to explain your current, continuous resistance to all requisite protocols.  You, at every turn, have rebuffed even the smallest overture from a representative of the "Fancy Random Blahs" Department. Instead there was: the nutrition, the movement (dancing the worst), those mantras, the writing (the poetry most offensive), the dog - all that wagging and walking - an insult. But all that time in nature was our breaking point.  C