I adjust the controls on the flow and delight in the comfortably hot, colorless fluid on my clothes-less body. My pores welcome the liquidy massage as the soap runs off and down the drain. It’s not long before I fill my water pot and sip my daily brew to continue the percolation of mind and movement, and then I fill a few ounces into a small pot to boil with just a pinch of salt to cook my morning oval superfood seemingly making up for the not-so-healthy food I may eat later. And I never have to waste those leftovers from yesterday’s dinner thanks to my double-decker pot because I can pour just enough of that substance into the bottom and set the fire beneath, so that the veggies in the top tier moisten and warm from its steam. And on those occasions when I long to honor my dear mother and grandmothers, it provides that necessary ingredient for hard, rice grain to soften and intermingle with pigeon peas, onions, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, salt ,and pepper for a delicious staple. The earth has been good.
But there’s more, from time to time, even my tile floors benefit from its application, making the removal of spots and stains a ritual of ease. And my clothes? When mixed with detergent, it softens so my they are clean again. Its presence provides a major avenue of employment for plumbers who run pipes to keep its flow running to our sinks, washers, and latrines or who repair them from obstructions. The earth has been good.
In April, its presence is even more visible though it flows secretly through sprinklers or hoses. Those vibrant orange and purple tulips, yellow daffodils and red begonias are evidence of its fine work. Their beauty lifts me. The earth has been good.
What’s more is that I have something to offer when my grands, after they have played in the hot sun and run in to say, “I’m thirsty.” I can fill a drinking glasses with its contents or add ice to cool it even more. And they have something in which they can splash or swim as they play, laugh, and build happy memories for tomorrow. The earth has been good.
It furnishes spaces where even I can wade or coordinate my arms and legs to become one with rolling waves and movement, allowing 61% of me to connect with a small portion of that 71% of it. It’s a match made in heaven. As I return to my folding chair, I watch Its breaking waves hit against the shore, and it commands my awe. I want to join in with the watery claps I hear, so together, we praise the Greater who made us both. I’m humbled, elevated, centered. I feel closer to the paradise the first evictees left behind.
The ancients built civilizations around these liquified pathways; we moderns do too.
The earth has been good.
Comments